“A Rose By Any
Other Name...”
in this case, would not be the same...)
By Tasleem Rajwani
The
Vancouver salsa community was thrilled to be able to spend
a weekend with two talented dancers from Europe- Leon Rose
from London and his partner Noemie Millon from France. The
two international performers wowed the audience with the energy
and inventiveness of their choreographies. The speed and agility
with which they executed their moves, coupled with their smooth
and unique style, was impressive.
Students were inspired by Leon
and Noemie’s challenging workshops. It was great to
see both guests social dancing with local salseros throughout
the evening, inspiring a playfulness and creativity that was
refreshing.
I met up with Leon and Noemie on
a Friday afternoon in West Vancouver. They had just returned
from a short shopping trip in downtown and were still a little
jet lagged, and getting used to the time difference. Yet,
they both shared their ideas and thoughts with enthusiasm.
The time they took out for the interview, in the middle of
their first sunny day in Vancouver, was greatly appreciated.
Tasleem: I’m
particularly curious about the salsa scene in the UK,
because I lived in England for two years, but didn’t
know anything about salsa at the time. Could you say
a little about it?
Leon: Well, in London there
is salsa everywhere, absolutely everywhere. You can
go out seven nights a week, and there’s about
five clubs to go to every night. So it’s really,
really big. Apparently, they say London has more salsa
clubs than in New York. And you know, a lot of people
in Europe, at least in the UK, think of New York as
the MECCA for clubs.
Tasleem:
And you two teach in Paris as well, right? How does the Paris
scene compare to the scene in London?
Leon: What I see in the UK is
that salsa is basically a social thing. There are people who
aspire to be performers, but generally, it’s more of
a social thing. In London, students learn in a club and they
just dance afterwards. It’s a good way of meeting people
but…
In Paris, there are more schools
for salsa. And the way people learn salsa in Paris is in a
lesson, in class. One of the things I like about Paris is
that we can get more serious about the dancing, and see people
improve. And if we teach in a class for about six months,
we can see a big improvement in students in a studio.
In London, my club is quite busy.
We teach a routine, but the learning is not as personal as
it would be in a studio. That’s the main difference
I see.
Tasleem: I have a background
in teaching. And I find it interesting how there are
some things that are easier to teach, because they have
a formula and are straight forward, whereas other things
are harder to teach. For instance, your dancing is quite
innovative, full of creativity. And people probably
see that and want to “learn” that from you.
But it’s one of those things I would
imagine is not easy to teach, if it can be taught at
all. Do you think it is something that can be taught
or is it just a personality thing? How do you encourage
it?
Leon: It CAN be taught, but it is also partly personality.
In her classes, Noemie is always teaching how to put
an ATTITUDE into the thing that you’re learning,
right? (looks at Noemie).
Noemie: Yes, I have a workshop at the moment, just
for girls. It’s a five week workshop. I don’t
teach them routines. I teach them how to EDUCATE the
body, with moves that they are not used to doing. I
teach them how to feel more confident about themselves.
And I push them to TRY to create, because to learn to
be creative, you need to be given a start to that creativity.
And then you can take it further and further. There
are just twenty girls in this workshop. I didn’t
want more than that. I wanted to keep it small. And
I realize that none of the girls in it really ever tried
to CREATE. So I hope that with the help of my workshop,
they are going to become more creative. I believe it
is possible to BECOME creative.
Tasleem:
That’s great, because it allows students to take what
they’ve learned, and make it their own, instead of looking
the same as everyone else on the dance floor.
I understand that you
both have backgrounds in disciplines quite “different”
to salsa- Leon in theater and Noemie in Sports Management.
Do you think that has contributed to how YOU make your dancing
your own, and if so, how? Or how has it influenced your dancing?
Leon: Well, for me, my mom put
me into acting when I was about twelve or thirteen years old
because I was very shy. And I was very introverted.
Tasleem: I think a lot
of people would be surprised to hear that! I know I am (laughs).
Leon: (laughs) Yeah, well, some
people say that it’s because I’m a Gemini, and
I have two sides, but I don’t really believe in that
stuff. But there are two sides to me. Because one night, I
could be in the middle of the party, and I could be doing
crazy things, and there’s another night where you wouldn’t
even notice me.
And acting has helped me bring out something from myself.
I was taught certain skills that allow me to stand up in front
of people and “pretend” that I am confident, even
though I may not be feeling that way at that particular moment.
I can do that, and I ENJOY doing that. I enjoy walking into
the middle of a class where no one knows me, and by the end
of the class, the students are enjoying what I’m giving
them, and they appreciate it. And I’m happy and I feel
fulfilled. And I think that acting has helped me get to that
point.
Leon Rose & Noemie Millon
Chango routine
I don’t know how I would be if
I didn’t have that background. I don’t think
I’d be teaching. I don’t think I’d
be on the stage. Even when I’m performing, there
are certain tricks that I’ve learned over the
years by observing people in movies or just seeing how
people act. And that has helped me to perform, it’s
helped me to kind of “fake it” (laughs),
in a way. I don’t think I’m a natural performer.
But I can make it look like I am (laughs).
Tasleem: (laughs)
And how about you, Noemie, with your Sports Management
background?
Noemie: I did ten years
of track and field. So I was going to be a sports teacher.
That training helped me in salsa, because in sports,
you learn to improve your technique more and more. And
you learn to get faster and faster and better and better.
When I got into
the salsa world, my first focus was being able to do moves-
to follow, to spin. My background in sports gave me the strength
and energy in my body to do these things. But what is difficult
is that in track and field, you have a result. So if you win,
you win. If you don’t win, you just lose, you know.
But in salsa,
everything depends on the judgment of the people around
you- the promoters, the organizers, everything. And
it was very hard because you don’t know when you
win, and you don’t know when you DON’T win.
But then I worked on myself.
I tried to understand how everything worked. I was very
shy as well. I’m a shy person still. People don’t
realize it, or notice it, but I am shy. But by becoming
a teacher, I’ve learned a lot of pedagogy at school,
at university. I’m using it now to help girls
in the salsa scene become better and more confident.
I use the pedagogy that I learned and I also use my
own exercises.
I have a sports background,
and I have my studies, but I also have a Masters in
Business. Everything really helped me with the teaching
I do now. The dancing is more about teaching for me
at the moment.
Tasleem:
And you both have a Caribbean background?
Noemie: Yes, my father is from
Martinique.
Leon: And I’m from all over
the Caribbean, but the easiest thing to say is I’m from
Trinidad and Tobago.
Tasleem: With
all your traveling, and what you’ve seen in different
cities, do you have any advice on how to help a city’s
salsa scene grow and develop further? Have you seen anything
that really worked for a city, or something that really impressed
you?
Leon: What I’ve noticed
is that right now, some of the BEST dancers in the world,
in my opinion, are in Europe- some in Italy, France, in London,
a few in Germany and Spain as well.
This is because their style is
so different. And the reason for that is that there were people
that came from LA, like the Vasquez brothers. And you had
people come from New York- Eddie Torres and a couple of other
people. And what we did was that we took what they brought,
but then we had to create with it. We’d take a little
workshop, and then we had to CREATE around that. So we become
this HYBRID style, which was made up of bits of all the styles
thrown in because we didn’t have the influence of regular
workshops or regular classes from those people.
And then we threw in jazz, we
threw in ballet, we threw in rock and roll. In different countries,
the top dancers were adding their own style.
And there are so many congresses
in Europe. And so people like my self would travel around
the whole of Europe teaching in different places. I’d
give the people something of me, something that I created-
maybe an element of jazz or hip hop. And someone else would
take that and add their own thing to it.
So when you see these
dancers now, their dancing is completely different than
what you might see in New York, or what you would see
in LA. And it’s AMAZING, because it’s not
just one dimensional. I’m not saying that the
dancers in New York are one dimensional, but you can
tell a New York dancer just by looking at them. But
you go to Europe, and you’ll be looking at some
of the stuff they’re doing, and you’ll be
saying, “Damn, that’s really cool. What
is it?”
It’s basically a combination
of EVERYTHING. The best thing to do is to look at every
style- every type of dance- and absorb it. And don’t
be afraid…
Tasleem- “Don’t
be afraid”?
Leon: Don’t be afraid
to do something different. When dancers choreograph
a show, they often try to do what people EXPECT them
to do. But there are NO RULES. There is this typical
salsa image that people see, but salsa has grown so
much that we don’t have to follow those rules
anymore.
You’ve got
people doing acrobatics all over the place. You know, some
people like it, some people don’t. But it’s something
different, but still within salsa. There are some people that
don’t do any partner work in a routine. And their style
is a little more jazzy. So what? Salsa is open enough to do
this. There are not many other dances that are as versatile
as that. You can have so many different things going on within
one genre of music, which I find amazing.
Tasleem: Which style of
salsa did you actually start learning first?
Leon: I did Columbian style when
I first started. And it’s helped to make me what I am
today, that, and doing other stuff outside of salsa.
Noemie: I started with Cuban.
Leon: And that’s one very
important thing- the Cuban influence inside of salsa has done
so much for Europe. For me, some of the most amazing Cuban
dancers I’ve seen actually are in Paris. I find that
some people don’t like Cuban style, especially in some
parts of Europe, because they think it’s less technical
and it involves more dancing- more movement in the body. And
you know, some people are very conservative about the way
they move. People prefer to just spin the lady rather than
actually roll or shake or anything like that. And so people
kind of shunned it. But if you go to Paris, it’s amazing.
Noemie: Yeah, it’s HUGE
in Paris.
Leon: The first time I went to
Paris, I had this mentality that I didn’t really like
Cuban style. I thought it was not technical. I was teaching
this workshop, and I showed a move and said, “This is
more technical than Cuban style.”
And people there said, “What
are you talking about?”(laughs). I thought, “Oh,
whatever,” at the time. But then I went to this club,
and I saw these guys dancing Cuban style and I said, “What
the hell? This is not what I learned when I learned Cuban.”
So I went back to basics with Cuban style and I said, “I’m
going to learn this properly.” And NOW I have an appreciation
for it.
I go to some places and
there’s still a divide between the Cuban style
and the Puerto Rican style (as they call it in Paris),
or that “cross body… business” (laughs)
Tasleem- “Cross-body
business”- I like the sound of that! (laughs)
Leon: (laughs) Well, THAT’S
ANOTHER story.
But you go to a place and
one group says, “No no, we don’t like Cuban
style.” And then you go to the Cubans, and they
say, “No, no, we don’t like Puerto Rican
style.” But the best dancers that come out of
Paris are able to do BOTH, and both at a HIGH level,
which for me is amazing.
I always tell people, “LISTEN,
to be a great dancer is not to be a master at one style.
It’s to be a master of ALL, within salsa.”
But in the last four years,
the people are dancing more of the Puerto Rican, cross
body…
Tasleem: Cross body
business? (laughs) Sorry. I couldn’t help it (laughs).
Leon: (LAUGHS) I don’t
know what else to call it, you know? Because the funniest
thing is that well, my DVD’s are called “London
Style”. I’m not saying there’s a specific
style in London. It’s just that years ago, when
I started, the LA guys came over, and I learned this
cross body style.
And then the guys
from New York come over, and they have this same kind of thing,
but it was On2. So I took that, and I developed my own type
of thing around what I learned. And then people asked me,
“What style do YOU dance?” So I said, “Well,
I dance LA.” But I went to LA, danced with a couple
of girls and said, “Hold on, I don’t dance anything
like them.” (laughs) So I said, “Okay, well, I
must be dancing New York style then.” But then I go
dance with New Yorkers, and I dance nothing like THEM. So
I thought, “What do I say?” (laughs). So I decided
why not just call it “London Style” for the moment?
I didn’t want to say “Leon Style,” but at
the end of the day, that’s basically what it is. I have
my own kind of thing going. And I have my own way of thinking
about what I’m doing- the moves and …
Plus, I don’t know, but
people say it’s also because I’m left handed (laughs).
Noemie: (laughs) That is definitely
true.
Leon: Yeah? (looks at Noemie)
Because for me, what I do- it’s normal (laughs).
But over the years, a lot of dancers
that have worked with me in some of my choreographies have
said, “What the hell is this?”
Noemie: (laughs)- Well, it’s
because it’s not logical. Instead of starting moves
to the right, he would go to the left. And it’s like
this with EVERY one of his moves. Uggh! (laughs)
Tasleem: I guess
being right handed, I never really thought about what
the left handed dancers do. I just thought it was all
the same. (laughs)
Noemie: No, try to learn
one of his choreographies. I promise you, you’ll
see.(laughs)
Leon: I think it’s
normal (looks at Noemie and laughs) Because I could
learn anybody’s choreography, no problem. But
when it comes to people learning MY choreography, they’re
like, “What the hell are you doing?” (laughs)
Tasleem
(laughs)- That’s funny. With your appreciation
of different types of dance styles, I’m curious about
your taste in music. If you are relaxing on a regular day,
when you’re not rehearsing or teaching, do you have
a preference as to what type of music or musicians you would
listen to?
Leon: Noemie’s always listening
to music. Me? I’m not so much into listening to salsa
at home. But if I hear a song, any type of song, that I really,
really like, I will listen to it to death. I will put it on
my iphone, and I will listen to it over and over and over,
until I get sick of it, and then I won’t listen to it
anymore. And I go through phases. Sometimes, I don’t
listen to music for months. And then, all of a sudden, I find
another song and get into that one.
Noemie: I listen to music ALL
the time. I can’t ever be without music. My favourite,
and it’s been awhile since I’ve heard him, is
Al Green. I just love his music (smiles).
Tasleem: And
I understand that you’ve been to places that most
people don’t get a chance to see- Morocco, Egypt.
Is there any place that you’ve been to that really
stood out to you because of its dancing, the culture,
the people, or the scenery?
Leon: That is a hard question.
I’ve been traveling a little bit longer than Noemie.
In fact, that’s how I met her. I met her in Paris,
and then in Barcelona, many, many years ago, when I
was a young boy (laughs)
(Noemie laughs)
Leon: People say to me,
what’s your favourite place? But you know what?
The best answer is that when I’ve been to absolutely
everywhere, THEN I can answer that question (smiles),
because every place is completely different.
Leon and Noemie performing
Chango at
Mad About Mambo event, Vancouver 2009
Tasleem:
Then let me ask the question in a different way (smiles).
Is there a place where you haven’t been yet, that you’d
like to go to?
Leon: I haven’t been to
Japan. I’ve been to most countries in Europe. But Japan
is one place I’d like to go to. I heard I have to be
quite fit, because the girls over there don’t stop dancing.
I found that even in Malaysia or Singapore, I managed to get
a little rest every so often (laughs). But I’m ready
to go over to Japan, I think.
Tasleem: Any place that
stood out to you, Noemie?
Noemie: It’s not going to
sound very good (laughs), but I REALLY love Paris. I’ve
been traveling less than Leon, but I’ve still been to
a lot of places. And the vibe in Paris, and its mentality,
the culture, and the music is great. And everybody in the
salsa scene in Paris is just so different – the way
they dance, their style.
I moved to London for about a year and a half or a little
bit less than that. And it wasn’t the same thing. In
London, it was very technical. The people there are very nice-
very warm, compared to Paris, because in Paris they can be
a little cold in the beginning. But I was very happy to go
back to Paris, to the salsa scene there.
I also enjoyed Barcelona A LOT.
We weren’t there for a congress. We just went there
for one week to teach. I liked the small clubs. They had live
musicians playing. It was amazing. This is why we have the
new club in Paris now called Aqua. We brought musicians there
because it was SO amazing to see that somewhere else.
Tasleem: And it’s
actually on the water?
Noemie: Yes, it’s on a boat,
on the water.
Leon: It’s on the Seine.
It’s cool.
Tasleem: Sounds like it
(smiles). Well, since we’re talking about your venues,
can you tell us about your salsa nights in London, Leon?
Leon: The best night is each and
every Sunday. It’s MY night (smiles). And it’s
called SOS- Salsa On Sundays. We have a lot of people coming
down every week. And we have a lot of international people
just dropping in. There’s always somebody from Denmark
or Norway or Greece popping in there, which is cool. We’ve
been established for eight years or so. That’s one of
the best nights in London because you can find a lot of serious
dancers there. The other places tend to be more like a club,
and the club relies on drinkers, so half the people who go
to those places spend their time at the bar. The other half
are the dancers, and sometimes they don’t mix THAT well.
And you know, as a serious dancer, you don’t want to
deal with that, but at SOS you don’t get that, which
is nice. That’s why I think we’ve been so successful.
Tasleem: Well, since we
heard that you were coming out here to Vancouver, there have
been a couple of mass emails sent throughout our salsa community,
making use of your name to hint at your arrival. The first
one started with “It’s going to be a Rosy weekend”
and I wrote a couple of lines playing on the old “Roses
are red” poems. And for some reason, my brain kept working
on it overnight, so this morning, I finished it and wanted
to give it to you (passes the poem to Leon):
Leon (reading):
Ode to the Rose
Most roses are red,
But not this crazy Brit.
Just throw him a beat
And he’ll never sit.
A Caribbean Soul
Crafty, Smooth as he grooves
All heads turn to say,
“Damn, that boy’s got moves!” (laughs)
Most roses are red,
But this one’s on fire.
With beautiful Noemie
And that funky attire.
This rose is unique,
Yes one of a kind,
For those who think
he can be outshined,
Get off the dance floor,
You’re wasting your time!
Tasleem has
a BA in English Literature and Art History. During her
six years of teaching, she encouraged her students to
follow their dreams and believe in themselves. Finally
taking her own advice, Tasleem is spending time on her
passion for writing and love of dancing. She is grateful
for the way in which dancing has strengthened many areas
of her life.
