WHAT'LL IT BE, A MOVIE OR A DANCE?
by
Nestor Louis


Recently, movie theaters raised the price of admission to ten dollars. I rarely go to the movies as it is. I find the whole experience of sitting in a dark room filled with chatty, and at times rude strangers, for two or three hours, cruel and unusual punishment. Each year about 50 to 60 movies are released. With advancements in digital sound and visual effects, most movies have become displays of fancy bells and whistles with very little content. Only about 10 percent of them are actually worth seeing. Add to the movie equation the painful and annoying ritual of standing in line to buy buckets of popcorn and soda (for a dollar more you could super size the buckets and get storage drums), that you either spill all over the aisles or never quite finish. All of these hassles conclude in, at best, three hours of sedentary entertainment, in an environment you have no control over, at a price tag of $35.00 plus for two. Don't misunderstand, I enjoy a good movie every now and then, but for my taste and budget, a Latin nightclub is a better source of entertainment. Here's why…

While movie theaters have a reduced admission policy, almost all of them cover a time frame that benefits their target group, senior citizens, students, the independently wealthy, or the unemployed. It's called a matinee, and between the hours of 11:00 am and 3:30 pm you can actually see a movie at a 50% discount. With a few exceptions, Latin nightclubs offer generous discounts and excellent perks that vary between free admission and complementary buffet at realistic and reasonable times. By the time I clock out from my job, at least 6:00 pm, I'm left with, at most, two hours to make it into a club for $5, if not for free! Leaving me with enough cash to buy at least two drinks for less money than the cost of milk duds, popcorn, and a soda.

"That's part of the mystique of being a salsa musician. People want to meet you. They want to shake your hand, take pictures. It's cool! It's the only form of entertainment, where the artist has direct contact with his or her audience," says singer, Rafael De Jesus. Chances are, at a movie theater you will never meet the starring artist of the flick you just saw. Not backstage, not on the line for popcorn, and not while waiting on the line to the bathroom. You certainly can't shake the image of their hand displayed on the big screen. At a nightclub you have the opportunity to, not just take pictures with your favorite artists, but to actually have a small chat with them. Probably even meet their producers if they're around, and some of the movers and shakers in the industry. Hey! You might even meet a movie star or two.

If the movie one is watching starts to go south, there are two things one can do, either walk out, or bite the bullet and painfully sit through it. At a nightclub though, it is rare that all three of the following elements go bad - at once. If the music is not moving you, it's a safe bet that the band will make up for it. If both the music and the band don't seem to move you, hopefully the women are worth admiring. However, if they do not, like a movie, you should've taken the time to read the review before going in. But clearly you can see that there are more options for a fun time at a nightclub than at a movie theater. Think about this, people leaving a movie theater always look for something else to do. "What do you want to do next?" Eh...I don't know...Let's go to a club! No one leaving a nightclub says, "You know, we should've gone to the movies." It just never happens.

The one area that going to the movies wins over the nightclub in a big way is the first date. The closeness, the whispering, the handholding, for generations the movies have beaten the nightclubs in that area – until recently. Many small lounges have started to surface capturing that missing element.

Offering a smaller and cozier setting, many of these lounge type of establishments, are progressively gaining the public's favor over the one-size-fits-all nightclub styles of the Latin Quarter or the Copacabana. "Sometimes people are not in the mood to dance. Sometimes people are not in the mood to stay home. They want to go out, but not necessarily to dance or to sit at some bar. They want to go out and just listen to good music! Music that's not playing on the radio," said DJ Elvira, Salsa's DJ diva at Nell's, located on West 14th Street and 8th Avenue.

World-renowned DJ from New York, Henry Knowles, along with his partner, Izzy Rodriguez, has taken matters into their own hands. They are reshaping the Latin nightlife structure of this city by holding appealing after-work parties every Monday at Club Hush, located on West 19th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. "We are offering the salseros of this city something different, something that no big club can offer. Other than taking a breather from dancing, you're not going to find people hanging on to the walls just because. We play hard hitting salsa, mambo, guajira, and cha-cha-cha."

For the most part, Latin nightclubs or clubs in general are not known for being the absolute best places to meet people. There are many variants at play that somewhat hinder that magic.  However every Tuesday E'Toile, located on East 56th Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues, minimizes the effects of those variants by having lots of tables and couches to sit down, and a huge screen TV. "As expected things started really slow, but as word of mouth got out, people started to check us out and gradually started to mushroom," said promoter, Nelson Perez.

The movies versus the nightclubs, sedentary entertainment, as opposed to active entertainment, the art of the moving image, contrary to the live physical ballet. $10 for two hours sitting down versus $10 of unlimited fun at its best, how could anyone not like the nightclubs? "Some of the people are really conceited. It’s like if you don't look good or dance good, you might as well be a painting on the wall." "I was dancing with this guy - at least I thought I was, until suddenly the guy tells me that I'm dancing on one. Then, the dance turned into a whole lesson. About the one, the two, the three, the six, the eleven, and a whole bunch of stuff. I just don't want to deal with that." "I was dancing with this extremely attractive lady. I thought we were having fun. I certainly was. The fact that I took dance lessons a while back certainly helped. At the end of the dance, she tells me how much of a good dancer I am, this and that. But that perhaps I should go back and take more dance lessons to learn more turn patterns. I am like, thanks for the advice but I am not into doing dance-show spectaculars."

Have you ever attempted to do an "on the spot" dance lesson? Have you ever frowned at somebody because they got their clave slightly off? They stepped on the six too early, or on the two too late, eh? How about if they keep it simple? You didn't spin more than once on any given turn? Oh poor boo. Any of that sound familiar? If any of this does, then shame on you! You are part of the reason why the nightclub scene is dying! You are part of the reason why average fans of the music would much rather stay home, or go to a movie. They rather do that instead of being embarrassed by their clumsy two left feet, which are a big part of their covert insecurities.

I took a year's worth of dance lessons with the one and only Eddie Torres. Eddie Torres is the absolute best salsa/mambo, and cha-cha-cha dance instructor in the entire world! And even though I did that, I am the furthest thing from an Eddie Torres Dancer. My goal in taking the classes was to learn enough to be able to just dance in sync with the music. Not to do shows, nor to do pirouettes, kicking my heels up in the air, or flick my hair (if I had any) in the air as if I was some kind of shampoo hair-model. The one thing Eddie Torres said that always stuck with me is, "always remember where you were and where you came from. Don't be like the person that learns the martial arts to go out there and beat up everybody." It seems that all of the instructors out there are teaching their students the exact opposite. "Go ahead! Go out there! Intimidate and humiliate people!" I guess that's their battle cry.

Trust me, I am not without sin here either. I've done my share of Tai Kwon Do on the dance floor. But I've only done it on people who had it coming. Tell you a story. Like I said before, I'm not the type to do back flips, somersaults, or any type of acrobatics on the dance floor. My stuff is very simple, and very straightforward. Those who know me know that my thing is to enjoy the dance and the song. I can hold my own, but to put it bluntly, I could be a very boring dancer to watch. One time I asked this woman for a dance. She accepted. Next thing you know I noticed that she's very flat footed on her steps. You know the type, the one that wears those black pseudo-ballerina flat dance shoes from Capezio and looks like a walking duck with every step. Ok, so I say to myself, "Ok, so she's flat footed." I tolerate the theatrics and all that hand styling crap, while I'm still doing my one-two-three, five-six-seven. She looks at me and asks me, "You're dancing on two right?" I'm like..."yeah?" She goes, "Oh, I'm dancing on one." I smiled and proceed to turn her. As I turn her more and more, I begin to notice that she's an out of control spin top! Crashing into other couples, spilling drinks, and other nonsense. It really becomes an uncomfortable situation. I reel her in, literally, and I start to explain to her, under the blaringly loud sound of salsa trumpets, why she needs to take it easy on her turns and to follow my cues so that way she doesn't spin out of control. She replies, "Are we dancing, or are you giving me a dance lesson?" Oh man, it was on. I released her hands and from that point on…while she's dancing like a cheap cabaret dancer, with all this fancy hand flair, and whatever else, I kept it simple, but tasty with open shines like the Double Hunts Point, the Suzy Q, and the Toe Tip/Toe Step. Funny thing, I didn't see her dance with any one else after that.

Another time I saw this young lady dancing. She had this weird Bronx dance face. You know the type. That look is exclusive to Bronx chicks. Don't ask me why. The look is one that's almost a game face, almost a disinterested face, almost an "I'm the bomb" face, almost "I know you want me but can't have me" face, almost "chicken about to lay an egg" face. I don't know why I asked her to dance. We start dancing and she becomes very difficult to lead. It was weird! I opted to release her, and just like the prior story she starts doing her thing, but worse! She looks as if she’s getting possessed or something. And every time her open shine routine ended, she would find herself out of beat! It was really funny to watch I tell you. So much so that she was backed into a corner with a cosmopolitan as her sole friend.

It's a mess out there in the nightclubs. You got the one-two-three five-six-seven mamberos, you got the Vegas showgirl dancers, you got the women that go into panic attacks if THEY step out of clave or on your foot, and then you got terrible DJs with big egos. You know the type, the one that believes in cutting the song in the middle to mix it into another one. You know - to keep "the mix" going because this way his talent is showcased, and at the same time, it makes the song more exciting for the dancer. I wish these dudes understood that this is salsa, and not hip-hop or R&B (even that shouldn't be mixed!). When I like a song, I like it from beginning to end. When I sing a song in my car or at home, I do it from beginning to end. I want to dance a song from beginning to end. I really don't give a rat's behind about mixing. Think about this, Gilberto Santa Rosa will never record a song and chop it in the middle. And he's the artist! So why would you Mr. DJ? All in all, going to a nightclub can be a great experience if people were receptive to each other's inhibitions. If we work towards helping others lose those inhibitions, perhaps more people would have a better time at our nightclubs, dancing our music, without a care in the world. It wouldn't be an issue of timing or clave, but one of pure salsa and its enjoyment.

Here are my choices for this summer's Hot Spots.

Monday - Club Hush (West 19th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues) has a lovely neon decor main room, and a softly lit second room away from the music, complete with candles, sofas, and a bar. DJ Henry Knowles is a true old-school salsero that spins the best mambo/salsa, cha-cha-cha, guajiras, and instrumentals from his collection. He occasionally goes crazy with the mixing, but he never throws you off or cuts the song in half. From his selection I've heard many classics from Machito, Tito Rodriguez, and Tito Puente, contemporaries like El Gran Combo, Sonora Ponceña, and Willie Rosario, and modern songs from Luisito Carrion, Victor Manuelle, and Gilberto Santa Rosa. As far as I can tell, his signature artist is Willie Rosario. He is the only DJ that plays his music. His clientele is made up mainly of intermediate dancers from all different dance schools. Because the dancers that frequent his parties are of intermediate skills, the average one-two-three five-six-seven dancer can feel right at home. Admission is $5 before 7:00 pm and $10 thereafter. Free buffet and fairly priced drinks are the norm, but the live acts that regularly perform there are the icing on the cake.

Tuesday - E'Toile (East 56th Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues) has an impressive plush decor in the first room, complete with a big screen TV featuring the sporting event of the evening, and sofas and love seats, as well as a very accommodating bar. The ambiance is very conducive for meeting people and chatting. The second room, the dance room, is huge with soft lights and non-intrusive tables all around the walls and pillars, patrons can take advantage of E'Toile's kitchen. The DJ - I don't know. Whoever he is, has a nice collection of standards like Eddie Palmieri's "Vamonos Pal' Monte", and Angel Canales' "Lejos De Ti (Puerto Rico Yo Nunca Dejare De Amarte)", as well as new classics by Venezuelan salsero, Erick, Grupo Gale, and Grupo Niche from Colombia. Merengue, house, and freestyle music is also played there, but not to overkill. His signature seems to be a straight-up top 40 formula, which he likes to mix, way too much. Sadly, it's like your listening to La Mega. The main clientele at E'Toile appears to be from the immediate area of financial midtown Manhattan. Lots of after-work professionals that are not afraid to get down and dirty in their own style of dancing, for it's a mixed bag of dancers. Be prepared to be stepped on a lot, as well as, you stepping on others a lot. Admission is free before 8pm and $10 after, with drinks priced just a notch above moderate.

Wednesday - Nell's (West 14th Street and 8th Avenue) has a very intimate, a very vintage, look and feel, lots of wood and soft lights on both floors, which provide for a great acoustic sound, and DJ Elvira, my absolute favorite DJ. She plays the right music, at the right time, every time. Some might say that there's no flair in her DJ style because she doesn't mix, she doesn't cut songs in the middle, or add any annoying sound effects to the songs. Each and every song is played the way the artist originally intended to play it - from beginning to end. Her signature artists are Louie Ramirez & Ray De La Paz, Sonora Ponceña, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Tito Puente, and Hilton Ruiz. Pure salsa is on her repertoire. Her following is mainly the advanced dancer from the various dance schools around town. Make no mistake about it. If you're not a one-two-three five-six-seven black belt deluxe dancer, you will be threading in dangerous waters. Sure, you might find some people that are at an intermediate and beginner level, but for one reason or another they are looking to dance with the one-two-three five-six-seven black belt deluxe dancers. However, rest assured that even if you don't get to dance, for whatever reason, Elvira will keep you hooked solely on the salsa she plays. Admission is $10, and it's reduced to $7 if you have a special Internet printout. Drinks are priced two notches above moderate, only because the glasses are too small.