pittsburgh

pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Formerly the City of Steel,
Now the "Budding" City of Salsa !!

Jeff and Colleen Shirey

"Hi Edie, this is Jeff Shirey from pittsburgh, PA. You don’t know me, but I know you! I read your FREAK page all the time! Listen, my wife and I are in LA right now, and we were wondering if you could tell us where the great Salsa Hot Spots are. Can you help us out?"

It’s not often that I receive phone calls like this, but when it happens, I usually do the best I can to accommodate people from out of town. I know how hard it is to find Latin clubs when traveling to different cities.

Jeff and his beautiful wife, Colleen, decided to come to Los Angeles specifically to check out the Salsa scene. They had read about it on Salsaweb, and being Salsa-Holics themselves, decided to travel the 3,000 miles to check it out. I gave Jeff a list of my personal favorite clubs in LA. and also told him of a local Saturday performance given by the Salsa Brava and Los Rumberos dance companies. We met, danced and had a terrific time.

Little did I realize that this bit of hospitality on my part would take me to pittsburgh, PA less than a year later, and turn into a wonderful experience for my new partner, Raul Santiago and myself.

The city of pittsburgh is on the verge of a Salsa explosion. The clubs are jam packed with hungry budding Salseros that truly enjoy great music, and "know" what is "good Salsa". Most had never seen "LA Style, Hollywood Salsa" dancing before. Their style is a mix of Colombian and Cuban, with very little Puerto Rican influence. Most dance on the "one".

We arrived in pittsburgh, and Jeff and Colleen were waiting patiently (NOT) at the station for us. "I’m sure you guys don’t want to perform tonight, after that grueling twelve hour train ride, you’re probably exhausted." Jeff said assumingly.

I just looked at him and smiled, "Nope, we’re Salsa FREAKS, we don’t care! We love to dance, c’mon! Let’s change into our performance outfits in the restroom and head over to the club!" Raul said. They were amazed at our energy levels. Little did Jeff and Colleen realize tha the twelve hour trip only seemed like a couple of hours for us.

What would have been a grueling twelve hour train ride from New York, was actually twelve hours of the most romantic train ride I’ve ever experienced. Raul romanced me the ENTIRE TIME. By the time we got to pittsburgh, I was in dreamland. We both had so much energy, we could have danced for twelve more hours after that!

We then drove to a nightclub called Rosebud in what is called the "Strip" district of pittsburgh. It’s like a docking area where big trucks would drop off stuff, but they’ve managed to turn the entire block into a wonderful lively "Night Spot" for dancing and having a great time. There was a Salsa / Merengue band playing, and the floor was jam packed with budding Salseros dancing every style imaginable, from Mexican to Cuban, to Columbian, and Hustle.

My dance partner and I did a small Salsa performance, demonstrating Hollywood Salsa style. Afterward, ALL the women wanted to dance with Raul. "You got to take a number" I explained to each one….After they danced with him, they came up to me and said with giggles and smiles, "Edie, we’re not going to wash our hands for a month!!". "When you come back, don’t forget to bring your partner!!"

I just laughed, and said, "OK." with a big ‘ole smile on my face. That’s right folks, Raul Santiago is THE BOMB dancer. Not only can he dance killer Salsa, but Tango, Hustle, East and West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Waltz, Vianese Waltz, Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Polka, Fox Trot, Two-Step, and Mambo "on two", both styles, 2,3,4 and 5,6,7. Raul is the most incredible partner I’ve ever had, and one of the most thorough instructors I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. Everyone who takes his group classes raves about his instruction and method of teaching. With his own style, he makes students laugh, have fun, and truly enjoy their learning experience. Every one of his classes is a memorable one. He really makes learning to dance A BLAST!

After dancing all night, we went to breakfast with a group of hard-core Salsero fanatics, and were asked about how Raul and I met and fell in love. Every time Raul tells the story somebody cries. When he told our story to a group of five women in Washington DC a few weeks ago, all of them were in tears. The story of how we met is phenomenal. That’s why Raul is hesitant about telling our story to a group of women. He hates to see women cry. I’m almost done writing about it for next month’s issue of Salsaweb, so "you too" can cry at your desks reading about it. Get your Kleenex’s ready….

Saturday night we went to club Cozumel, where we ate a Mexican dinner, compliments of Biki, the owner. He is a very nice gentleman, and the only club owner in pittsburgh that offers a full night of Salsa! This is "The" hot spot for dancing on Saturday nights here in pittsburgh. The place was jam packed with Salseros with barely any room to dance. pittsburgh definitely needs more Salsa dance clubs to accommodate the explosive growth of Salsa dancing!

Saturday, we did a workshop at the Wightman Center, where we demonstrated and taught typical Los Angeles Hollywood Moves. Raul and I demonstrated how you can add the hot tricks of Swing and Lindy Hop and combine it with Hustle and Tango moves. The freedom to express yourself is limitless. Later, we were told that people were astonished that one could take Salsa dancing to such a high level, and get away with it… <<<smile>>>. !!

When you’re not exposed to this style of Salsa, you don’t really know what to work toward. Salsa is a dance that allows individuals to do virtually whatever they want, as long as it’s "followable" by the woman. There are certain standards to leading that come from the basics, but applying a bit of Tango, Swing, Hustle, among others adds that much more spice, creativity, and life to the dance.

During my Lady’s Styling class, I worked with the women on self-esteem, posture, confidence, and connection. "Ladies, it’s ‘OK’ to be sexy… OK?…Even if it's only for a minute....

Salsa allows women to be WOMEN, and men to be the wonderful, dynamic, masculine men they are!! Raul demonstrated and taught men’s styling on the other side of the room. Near the end of the class, Raul and I did a challenge with the women on one side, demonstrating their newly-learned sexy techniques, and the guys on the other side, demonstrating their newly learned "male styling" techniques.

I swear the guys looked like a chorus line, they were so perfect in their shines, moves, and styling. As for the women, "They were sexy and seductive." Raul told me, "There’s only one word to describe how the women looked after Edie was through with them…. ‘SHWING’." .J " - Raul Santiago

The students were so willing and eager to learn. Raul and I truly enjoyed teaching them, and had an absolute BLAST! It delighted us to see them actually "doing" the moves at the clubs later on.

On Sunday night we gave another performance and workshop at the Edgewood Club where instructor Robert Rogers normally teaches. There were many Swing dancers there that were eager to learn some Salsa.

THIS IS HILARIOUS: OK, I'm not going to mention this person's name, but after my class at the Edgewood Club, he came up to me, turned aound, BENT OVER, and showed me....

Aterward, we were invited to the Club Rios where Victor, (the owner, and a great Salsero himself...) gave us a private party at one of the most beautiful nightclub / restaurants we’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. The view at night of the entire downtown metropolitan area of pittsburgh was breath-taking. The entire wall was made up of sliding glass door windows. The wooden dance floor was PERFECT for dancing and spinning. Most of the more advanced Salseros showed up that evening, including many of the local instructors. They inspired Raul and I so much that we decided to teach them more Hollywood moves and review some Lady’s styling techniques. We had a ball!

We felt so proud of the Salseros at of pittsburgh, and are looking forward to coming back in May. Special thanks to Jeff and Colleen for organizing our visit and hosting us in their home. Also special thanks to Robert Rogers and all the other volunteers who helped us with the workshop and scheduling.

And lastly, many cyber-kisses to the budding Salseros of pittsburgh, PA, "We Love You!"