- Looking down at the Barrio.
This article was last updated on July 16, 2010 and is complete to the best of our knowledge. However, organisation of salsa parties is a delicate and daunting task and information is subject to change...Please note also that on the rare occasions that the sun decides to come out again, you might be lucky to find salsa dancers spinning away on the Seine banks, by the Institut du Monde Arabe, if you’re lucky...
For the most recent information in French, check out the SalsaFrance forum, and in particular its weekly dancing agenda and its live events agenda.
Summer Disclaimer : as every year, almost everything comes to a halt in Paris during the summer holidays. Depending on the venues, you will find out that this generally means the whole of August, if not both July and August. More than ever, during this period, do make sure that you check whether a venue is open and running before turning up.
Addresses for the clubs can be found here
Agua (Péniche Alizé) - Tuesday
10 euros, including dance classes and unlimited soft drinks
Open all summer.
Very much the most successful venue in Paris in the past two years, hosted by now almost permanant Paris-resident Leon Rose and his partner Noemie Millon. A "Péniche" is in fact a boat, in this case almost permanantly docked on the banks of river Seine. The Alizé boat has two levels : the upper, street-level is dedicated to salsa, mainly classic PR/NY salsa, some commercial salsa, and a little bit of bachata, spinned by DJ Melka ; the lower level welcomes couples smoothly moving to the sounds of Kizomba, as well as the self-service soft-drink bar. Dance classes with Leon, Noemie and Karlito from 8pm to 10pm. Free although totally packed car park on the river bank. Several alternative car parks are located near by, next to the Gare de Lyon.
Balajo - Tuesday & Thursday
10 euros, for the class and one drink
No history of salsa in Paris would be complete without a paragraph on the Balajo, only we’re not here to write history, but to make it : on Thursday nights, the Balajo has begun to swing (and spin) again, to the beats of DJ Willy Spades and classes in salsa mambo by David Lartist from 19h30. The party starts around 10pm, and is pure salsa until 2am, when the sounds shift down to latin groove.
Barrio Latino - Sunday & Monday
7 euros, free coatcheck on Sundays
8 euros, coatcheck 2 euros per item on Mondays
The Sunday party at the Barrio is almost world-famous and if it’s not already, you can help help spread the word : classes by David Lartist start at 2pm. Around 3pm, Willy starts to mix mambo dura and gorda and kompas, to unwind, in the DJ-cage, and doesn’t stop until the crowd has reached fever-pitch ; the party ends at 19h30 on Sunday night for those of us who have to work the next day. In this refurbished factory, you can spin on the hardwood floor and look up through three levels of wrought-iron magic to the ceiling. Huge windows to the street let in lots of light, and there’s a grand staircase if you want to sit and watch dancers cavorting on the floor, and intimate nooks and crannies if you feel like cooling down from the lovely knots of arms and shines out on the floor. Did we mention the music ? Go there.
The Monday party is, in turn, 100% cuban Timba-oriented, and is hosted by Roberto "El Cubano", with dance classes from 8pm to 10pm, and dancing till 2am.
Diablitho - Thursday to Friday
8 euros entry/2 euros coatcheck/one drink included
Currently closed for renovation - check back in September 2010 for news
Los Mexicanos
5 euros entry/coatcheck/one drink included
Mixed salsa on Tuesday and Thursdays, a small hardwood dance floor, and you can also eat Tex/mex cuisine in the restaurant. One admirer of the club says that it would be absolutely shameful to leave the club without trying their fruit juice cocktails : for 1 or 2 euros more than the entry price, one can choose the fruitiest cocktail to be found on either side of the Seine.
La Pachanga 7/7
Cover : 8 euros ; 10 euros on Saturday, class and one drink included. Coatcheck 2 euros.
One of the living dinosaurs Paris salsa clubs, the formerly concrete, and now hardwood floor of the Pachanga has welcomed the feet of most anyone who’s ever danced salsa in Paris. We lost our milk teeth dancing to YoDavid’s Monday night cuban/Rueda explosion, to DJ Alf’s parties. Possibility to dine beforehand and watch the dancers work their magic on the floor. Your entry to the club is free if you opt for the dinner menu !
Phil & Madj - Friday party Fridays, generally twice a month - dates available here
Cover : 10 euros ; class and one drink included. Coatcheck 2 euros.
Closed all summer. Next date : September 17, 2010
In only 3 years, DJ Phil and DJ Madj have managed to make this venue one of Paris’ ultimate hardcore 70’s salsa and mambo spot, heavily attended by "on 2" dancers and other "PR"-oriented crowds. Unusually located in the 15th arrondissement, i.e., in the South-Western area of the city, the rather large venue and its wooden dance floor are worth the somewhat longer-than-usual metro ride. Be there at 8:30pm for Mouaze’s class. Dancing starts at 10:00pm, and the party is over at 2:00am. Phil & Madj often have some surprise guest, either at the turntables or on the dancefloor for a short dance show at some point before midnight. Keep a cab service number at hand, finding a cab in this part of the city at 2:00am will take you some work.
Phil & Madj - Café Montmartre Saturdays, generally twice a month - dates available here
Cover : 5 euros ; no drink included.
Open on some dates during the summer : check dates here
To most observers of the Paris salsa scene, Saturday afternoon was probably the less likely time for a salsa party. That was until Phil & Madj did it. Originally located in one of the most touristic streets of Montmartre, right below the Sacré Coeur, the Café Montmartre is a most typical Paris brasserie ; when salsa sets in, i.e, from 4pm to 8pm, it is divided between the front, with its tables overlooking the busy pedestrian street with groups of tourists passing by, and the back, where the dancing takes place. Crossing the line will cost you 5 euros. Drinks remain at "day" prices, and you may sit down and have your beer watching the tourists go by before returning to the salsa side. As always with Phil & Madj, the music is strongly 1970’s salsa-oriented, with some mambo, cha-cha-cha and one or two bachatas just for the fun of it. You will find here part of the "PR" crowds seen in their other (and much larger) Friday spot referred to above.
- O’Sullivans, DJ Gabriel
O’Sullivan’s - Sunday
10 euros, one drink included, no coatcheck (don’t bring any valuables with you) : come before 7pm and bring a friend, and it’s two for the price of one !
This is the stomping grounds, every Sunday, of world-famous Paris-based DJ Gabriel and guests : his cd collections range from latin jazz to Cuban son, and his mix must be heard to be believed - word to the wise, plan your vacation so that you’re in the City of Light on Sunday, when Gabriel hits the sound barrier. Don’t be intimidated by the front of the club, the salsa is in the back. Two levels : the cozy salon area has a fast-spinning hardwood floor, and the bar-level is a concrete blend that spins better with a bit of talc. Your feet will need all the help they can get once Gabriel hits the tables : it’s difficult to stop dancing, so our good daddy has organized a show so that you can watch Paris’s best dancers perform as you catch your breath. The party can continue until 3am, but you’re on vacation - and walking back to the taxi/hotel through the X-rated neon of Pigalle is a necessary part of a trip to the City of Light. Classes by Sève, queen of everything you need to know about how to move on the dance floor, beginners from 5pm-6pm, and intermediate from 6-7pm.
- Rueda at the WAGG
WAGG - Sunday
10 euros, class and drink included, coatcheck 2 euros per item
Roberto el Cubano, Jack el Calvo, and DJ Indochino have taken the WAGG (formerly the Whiskey-a-Gogo, a Parisian club of great renown) by storm since January, and have given a new home to the Cuban crowd, who used to shake it down at the Montecristo (now closed for salsa). Thursdays this is where you should be. Sunday afternoon, also. Reports indicate that in addition to an addictive, Timba-rich and swinging son, there are beautiful bathrooms with lots of chrome, an excellent dancefloor, and a great ambience. The Sunday night parties are quite popular and the club is built to handle a large capacity, people say that even when there are 400 dancers present, you’ll have room to tembleque to your heart’s content on the dancefloor. Keep your ears peeled for reggaeton when Roberto’s at the turntables...
Again : Addresses can be found here
