Dinner Crowd Meets the Dance Scene

It seems like every few months I',m compelled to write about Sunday's at Sangria which somewhat to my suprise but much to my delight is really kicking now. Being the night before New Years Eve, my guess was that it would be pretty empty as everyone saved up energy for the big one. But to my amazement, when I arrived the place was packed. Every table was filled, the band was swinging and the dance floor was already jumping. I hadn't even planned to take any pictures, but it was such a great night that I couldn't help myself.

It's always great it is to see the dancers come out in force, but it's even better to see a lot of new faces. One couldn't help but notice the many new people either having dinner and drinks or out for their first time dancing and seeing what salsa is really about. One of the new faces was Shahida Nurullah - one of Detroit's jazz gems who knows her clubs and it was obvious that she absolutely loved the music and vibe.

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I'm of course a bit of a broken record, but its wildy encouraging to have a dinner and dancing night succeeding because it not only provides a great opportunity to dance, but a great opportunity for people who might be intimidated going to a club for the first time to see dancing up close and personal. Not only that, being a more easy going social atmosphere than a standard club it dinner and dancing affords opportunities that aren't usually available to meet and greet. And just an example of the the commitment and energy that the Detroit dancers bring to the scene; a group of first time dancers were treated to an impromptu dance lesson by YA Salsa / Sky Mambo's Shekyla.

As I said the first time I wrote about Sundays at Sangria, I originally was highly skeptical about whether a band on Sunday nights would really work long term, but Sangria owner Luigi and Grupo Escobar hung in there and made it work in now it really seems to be paying dividends for them and the dancers. Not many people know that the Harem was once a dinner and dance club called the 24 Karat Club back in the 60's when couples dancing was a more regular part of social life here in the states. Grupo Escobar is now playing a Thursday dinner and dancing night at Lazingara's in the Little Italy section Windsor; it would be great if that too became a popular destination. I hope each of us in the dance scene also plays the role of Salsa ambassador and I can't imagine a better opportunity to introduce the scene than a night of dinner and dancing.


Photos courtesy of George Gardiner.

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