Cuban Thursdays

If you were inspired by the Latin moves in Strictly Come Dancing, or just want to meet a bunch of friendly people and try something new, I can highly recommend going along to Cuban Thursdays - a salsa night held at the Lord Nuffield Club in Cowley every Thursday. I went along for the first time last January and now I'm completely hooked. Not only have I met some lovely people, but it's given me a whole new leash to my social life and a new talent to boot.

Before my first session I had never danced in my life. Neither did I have a partner to take along with me. It didn't matter. Cuban Thursdays is run by a team of friendly salsa enthusiasts who will make sure you are well looked after. The night involves lessons at beginners, intermediate and advanced levels. The lessons are taught by some of the UK's foremost Cuban dance professionals and are fantastic fun! You get the chance to try out some of your moves later on in the evening (there's dancing until midnight if you can stay up that long!) and there's always a random lesson thrown in to give you a chance to try your hand (feet!) at the likes of samba, bachata or cha cha cha.

Salsa is a great way to exercise, learn a new skill and meet people. I was genuinely surprised at the scope of people who attend and can really dance. There are people from age 18 to 80 and of all different shapes, sizes and nationalities. There are also people of all different abilities, but the one thing I found reassuring was no matter how good or intimidating someone looked on the dance floor, they were always keen to get you up and help you to practice your moves. Once you infiltrate the Oxford salsa scene you'll soon find out that you can salsa somewhere practically every night of the week. It's a fantastic social scene and I couldn't recommend giving it a go highly enough.

You don't need to book. Simply turn up on the night with comfortable clothes - and be prepared to get quite warm!

Sarah Fielding (Unverified), 10/01/08

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