Today.Az » Society » Getting to know your body: Salsa dancing in Baku – REPORT- PHOTOS
18 December 2010 [11:19] - Today.Az
Last week, one of my friends asked whether I was interested in attending a “salsa class”, here in Baku. Well, for me it was the same as asking if I would like to compete in a kickboxing tournament. The only difference would be that I would still try to step into the ring, determined to kick some butt, but in case with salsa… I just backed out.
However, the idea seemed interesting to me, just to get to know more about this. So I decided to attend the class, which was being held in one of Baku’s central schools. I arrived, “armed” with my camera, not knowing what to expect. My friend came about 10 minutes later, accompanied by some foreigner, named Richard, who also wanted to try out these lessons. We had a brief chat, and went inside, as the class was about to begin.
The room, where the classes were taking place was not big, but seemed quite nice, and cozy. When we entered, there were like 11-15 people in, most were below the age of 25. The teacher, a ripped guy named Davud Huseynov, was showing off the moves to the rest of the group. It occurred to me, that you have to be feeling “free” to be able to move freely. At some point, this is what this kind of dancing is all about. I sat down, and started taking pictures, as the class was moving on. Richard, and my friend, Zulfiyya also joined in.
Specific music, mixed with all those movements I’ve only seen on TV…really make a spectacle. In fact, I also did not know, that there are special moves that you have to learn, in order to dance right. Check out some photos from the practice below:
After the classes were over, most of the students were heading to the dancing party at “Face” club, and I got a minute to talk with Davud Huseynov, the class teacher. He told me that usually there are about 15-20 students in the class, among which – 2,3 foreigners. There’s also an official name “The Dancing World”. Davud himself has been dancing for 7 years already. I am no gay, but the man knows his moves, and looks smooth on the dance floor.
My friend, Zulfiyya told me that there are different forms aside from Salsa, such as: mambo, cha-cha-cha, rumba (Cuba), merengue, bachata (Dominica), tango and many others, but those are not being practiced in Baku. A pity, maybe, who knows. And, as far as that dancing party goes, below are the pictures from it, take a look – they were kindly provided by one of the “Dancing World” members (shot by Samir Atabey). And, if you plan on establishing a “contact” with your body, this kind of dancing just might be the way.
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