Copenhagen Can Dance!!

After giving up on the notion that I would be able to find any place in Denmark to fix my salsa addication, I was pleasantly surprised to find a club in Copenhagen, "Club Mambo" on a saturday night that was really moving! Originally, after scoping out the dancing scene in Denmark I was disappointed to find that the friday night scene at Club Mambo was basically dead, and that the scene in Aalborg had all but closed down for the summer months. But after a little serendipity, I found my self back in Copenhagen on a saturday night, walking by this same club, and a line up outside. So I stopped by and it was really moving!

As I stood against the wall walking the dance culture evolve on the floor, I was pleased to be around this vibrant life that I was missing--finally music to awake my soul! It was full of creatures from all walks of life--the beginners just trying to coordinate these new found body movements to the movements of their soul, the wannabe-pimp who I almost slapped for coming to close, and the passion-to-pain dancers who look like they are moving in such tension, to the techno-corrects, those that dance-from-the-box as I call it, you know, learn the moves, and move through the motions, looks kinda funny, but I don't really care, whatever moves you! And then I was pulled onto the dance floor, from one person to another, until this sweet and funny old African grandpa pulled me on to the dance floor...and as most people know, I don't believe in rejecting a dance (unless the person is threatening to my safety or they've been scratched off my dance card for good reason), so I find myself dancing with this man, and wondering why is was a little off--meaning his movements sort of awkward and "chunky", until I realized he was blind in one eye! now that was interesting, he was having the time of his life, laughing, playing, tricking me to follow, and then laughing, and when i tricked him back he just laughed more--it was an experience, let me tell you...and the rest of the magical night continued, from meeting people who would just talk to me or dance and chat....salsa, bachata, merengue...the list goes on, the characters evolved. A stuck up man, who asked me to merengue, then asked for a second when he started to speak to me in Spanish and once he found out I was from Canada spoke french, being really "proud" for being from France, assuming I was french then, was disturbed to find out I spoke english and said ok, enough in the middle of a song! And left me on the dance floor! As my british friend would say "The Bloody French!", I just say, too bad for him...I couldn't help but wonder as I watched him move from women to women, thinking he was Rico Suave! Too funny, I should've posted his picture on the web and rather said, "watch out for this one!". Thankfully, another guy pulled me onto the dance floor, who must've witnessed this and showed enough to appreciate dancing with me! And then there was Willy...funny Willy, who offered to buy me a drink, and at that time of the night I could use it, and I had noticed Willy, I knew he could dance--the kind of creative ball of energy that is natural and fun...and then he asked me "Pretty lady, can I buy you a drink?", to which I responded, "sure", and then he told me he would like to dance with me, to which i responded "ok"...and i think he thought this was all too simple...so in the meantime, as we finished up our drinks, we discussed, and it turns out "Willy" has lived in Denmark for 10 years, so his Spanish accent was not too strong, and upon telling me he was from Cali, as in the Salsa capital of Colombia, I knew it made sense that Willy moved the way he did. Little did he know who he was dealing with, and this was kinda fun on my part. So then, I asked him if he had a Spanish name--Willy was rather americanized, which is sometimes common in Colombia, but I really wondered if what he was telling me was true, and as it turns out, he told me it was just the way his parents named him and he was really from Colombia...interesting I thought. So, then he asked again if he could dance with me, and I said for sure, and he was concerned it was because he bought me a drink, and said "but all i have given you is water, so you don't have to dance with me because of this", to which i replied, "no really, it's alright", and as we finished up our drinks we hit the dance floor. And I don't think Willy was expecting that I could move at all, being from Canada and all, you know those frigid cold winters that keep everyone's mojo frozen...and well, we had a blast...and needless to say he was shocked, it was really quite funny....he followed me off the dance floor and stared raising both his hands in the air and shaking them as if to give up, saying "my God you are professional"...then she stared me in the eyes for what seemed an endless minute until shaking his hands saying "Lady, you've captivated me"....shaking his head in disbelief and walking off...it was really something else for me, I was kinda trying not to stare at him back, didn't think I didn't anything different at all, but this was really funny, and poor ol' Willy in his black blazer, white dress shirt and black Fidora disappeared stunned back into the rest of the crowd.

Overall, there was definitely a heavily influenced latino crowd, but generally a good mix of people, having a good time, not too clique-like, although there were defintely some people who stuck together...but that's like everywhere. The club is about the same small-size one as back home, and turns out it is the only one left in Copenhagen--which is the biggest of the Scandanavian countries, so that gives an idea of how many people actually get out to latin dance up here...and Serendipity this was indeed!

I danced 3 hours straight, and my feet sure felt the blisters the next day...the was only thing that stopped my pleasant experience from running until 5am, when the club actually closes...guess i've softened up a bit in the rural land! The walk back at 2am was essentially safe, and amusing. Copenhagen is really a city that moves all night. The Danes, and their imports, stumble out onto the streets late at night, and hit the clubs even later...I'm talking like 12-1am getting into a club as normal for them, and staying later. But lucky I hit the sack early, as my weekend had many more adventures that I will get into next time....

~Live like there's no tomorrow, Dance like nobody's watching, and Love like you've never been hurt~

Peace,
A