HISTORY OF CLUB SALSA
Club Salsa is Australia's largest Salsa dance
school and nightclub promoter. It was founded
in 1997 by Directors Antonio Cortese and
Benjamin Tang.
At that time, there was no dedicated Salsa nightclub
in Sydney. Salsa classes were limited to a few
individual teachers, unknown to mainstream Sydney.
Being fanatic Salsa dancers themselves, Ben & Antonio recognised that there was a need for quality Salsa club venues & well run classes in Sydney. They laid down an ambitious plan to create the "perfect Salsa venue", a place where all Salsa lovers could enjoy the best Salsa music, the best teaching and the best Salsa club!
On New Year's Eve of 1996, they organised their first Salsa party. With the help of a few enthusiastic friends, they set up a complete outdoor dance floor and sound system on the for
eshore of Sydney Harbour. As the spectacular fireworks show exploded over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the music started and the magical rhythm of Salsa rippled across the water.
The first "Salsa party under the stars" was a huge success. Against the spectacular backdrop of Sydney Harbour, people cheered and danced all night long. In the ensuing years, the famous New Year's Eve Salsa party had became a legendary annual event in the Sydney Salsa scene.
Since then, Ben & Antonio went on to become the most well known and successful Salsa promoters in Sydney. They have established some of the most popular Salsa club venues in Sydney, as well as the most professional Salsa school, teaching hundreds of students every week. Each summer, Club Salsa dancers are featured in the "Bacardi Festival de Cuba" at Darling Harbour, as part of the Sydney Festival, where over two weeks they teach thousands of Sydneysiders to Salsa.
Central to their success is their incredibly close partnership. Added to this, are their talents in such diverse fields as dance, business administration, marketing & promotions.
Equally importantly, however, is a team of dedicated, like-minded dance instructors, DJs and support crew. This team of young Salsa enthusiasts has rallied behind their leaders in pursuing of a single vision. That single vision, as is well known amongst the Club Salsa team is:
"one day, 95% of Sydney will be dancing Salsa... the other 5% will be dancing Merengue of course!"
SOME OF THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS
* Mainstream Sydney used to think of Salsa as just tomato sauce! Now, Salsa is recognised as a "hip" thing to say whenever anyone wants to promote something Latin. This is the fruit of Club Salsa's years of relentless marketing and promotion.
* Just a few years ago, there were three or four classes each week in Sydney. Now Club Salsa operates over ten classes each week itself.
* Four years ago, there were a handful of good Salsa dancers in Sydney. Now many well-known teachers, dancers and DJs are either current members or ex-graduates of Club Salsa, in addition to the hundreds of regular students and dancers attending Club Salsa's classes & nightclub every week.
Club Salsa is a dynamic organisation, leading the Sydney Salsa scene. We strive to be the benchmark for Salsa dancing in Sydney! Join us if you want to be part of this exciting revolution!
