Arts & Entertainment
Salsa Dancing Returns to the Palms
Luis Lopez leads the way back onto the dance floor of the downtown nightspot.
This Thursday night at 8:00 pm Luis Lopez, Founder and Director of the Latin Moves Dance Studio, returns to the Palms Nightclub on West Park Place to teach his popular Salsa dance class.
Lopez explained that he moved the class to another location during the earlier months of the summer to avoid the crowds that gather across the street from the club for Stamford’s Alive @ Five concert series.
The final concert, featuring the B-52s, was presented last Thursday and so Lopez is headed back to the Palms. And he’s promising to make his return a celebratory event.
Find out what's happening in Stamfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Scheduled to entertain the crowd are the Lavoe All Stars, a band that plays tribute to famed salsero singer Hector Lavoe, and dance exhibitions from, among others, 10 year-old Melody Monte.
Lopez was born and spent his early childhood in Stamford. When he was fourteen, however, his family moved to Puerto Rico. “I adopted the music and the culture and haven’t stopped dancing since,” he said.
Find out what's happening in Stamfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
So, fifteen years ago Lopez opened his West Main Street studio and became a welcome presence in the local Latin dance scene, heading up the Connecticut Salsa Fest and regularly besting the competition in Curtain Call’s annual Dancing With The Stars fundraising events.
PATCH: Are your Thursday night classes a good place for beginners to start Salsa dancing?
LOPEZ: Yes. The Thursday night classes are a lot of fun and very sociable.
PATCH: Is having fun an important part of dancing Salsa?
LOPEZ: That’s what it’s all about. Don’t take it too seriously. Just do it!
PATCH: Is it a difficult style of dancing to master?
LOPEZ: You have to be very open-minded and want to learn something different. There are all different kinds of Salsa – Columbian, Cuban – the list goes on and on. It has to do with how you step in the timing of the music. There’s a whole new set of rules. Like going from riding a tricycle to a two-wheeler. Some people come, try it and don’t like it. Then, six months later they’re back saying ‘I’ve got to get this.’
PATCH: How do you think someone whose spent the day in an office can benefit from staying in town for a bit of Salsa?
LOPEZ: It’s a great stress reliever! Better than happy hour. And healthier! I love being out there. I was dancing all weekend long.
For more details and directions visit www.palmasnightclub.com or www.latinmovesdance.com
