A London Salsero in Miami-Ashraf Moussa

I met Ashraf here in Miami while he was visiting from London. My first encounter with Ashraf was on a Tuesday night when he asked me to dance. We were at the Salsa night held at Tapas and Tintos along Espanola Way, hosted by Melina Almodovar, a local Salsa artist, and Ricky Torres, a local Salsa instructor and dancer. Ashraf and I didn't end up chatting until two nights later when I saw him again at The Well, a Thursday night Salsa party hosted by the Miami Salsa Dream Team. Ashraf and I got to talking, and he told me he dances lots of Salsa back home in London. I was very intrigued to realize that we clearly researched Miami Salsa with similar methods. It was just really cool to run into someone who lives in another part of the world, but essentially experienced Miami Salsa the same way I did. 

If you are ever in London, this interview will give you direction on where to find the Salsa!

SE=Salsera Elena

SA=Salsero Ashraf

SE: How long have you been dancing to Salsa for?

SA: 3 years 

SE: When did you first start dancing?

SA: I remember when, 29/11/2009 J

SE: What made you interested in dancing to Salsa?

SA: Ex-girlfriend forced me to it …. Then I found myself doing ok at it.

SE: When you first started dancing, it was in London?

SA: No, it was in Cairo, Egypt “homeland” then I moved to London to work for the British airways at the base in Heathrow in 2010 then I really got more into it because it was the only way to make new friends there….I was a new immigrant to the UK so it was hard making friendships with British people at first.

SE: Who taught you to dance/where did you learn how to dance?

SA: Like I said my ex forced me to be her partner then I found myself learning faster than her haha … anyway she was a great teacher in Cairo “Khaled Tegana” then after I moved to London I went to “Mario”.

SE: Where have you traveled to dance Salsa? Can you describe your experience dancing Salsa in each place?

SA: Cairo, London, Paris, Berlin, Milano, Tunisia, Dubai and finally Miami “it’s fun working for an airline” J

SE: Did you travel to Miami just to see the Salsa dancing there?

SA: No I had to do something first for work at JFK airport then yea I traveled to Miami for a vacation and dance so I think yes.

SE: Can you compare the different Salsa scenes from the different locations you have danced Salsa in? For example, how does the Salsa dancing in Miami compare to the Salsa dancing in London?

SA: In London bigger community many people from everywhere and dancing here is more Hardcore.

In Miami nicer people very warm and friendly because most of them are Latinos J  and they more like to enjoy and feel the music more than do complicated tricks like here in Europe and North Africa too they like to show off their tricks and what they can do.

 

SE: Where has been your favorite location dancing Salsa, at home in London, or somewhere else?

SA: Berlin the best.

SE: What is the Salsa scene like in London? Can you tell me anything and everything you can about Salsa in London? What styles of dancing are most popular? Who are the top Salseros in London? What are the best places to go to dance Salsa in London?

SA: It's huge here and it’s still growing more and more and there is other dancing getting popular here like the African Kizomba from Angola and the Zook too, mostly they dance on1 still here but the on2 thing  spreading here like crazy so people change to it. The top here I sent you their links “Mario, Sam, Moe, Laith, Rose and Susana Montero, best places are :

Salsa! Mondays and Wednesdays mostly bachata and kizomba …. Tuesdays for on2 only 

SOS the best in week Sundays only

Mambo city Fridays only

The other places are not so important.

SE: Are there places you would like to travel to for Salsa that you haven’t yet visited? Where would you go to visit the Salsa scene? What place is next on your list to visit for Salsa?

SA: NY.

SE: Have you been to any Salsa Congresses? Which ones? Which was your favorite Congress?

SA: Egypt Salsa Congress, Carthago Salsa Congress “Tunisia”, Berlin Salsa Congress and of course every Congress in London they are too many here during the year.

SE: Are there Salsa Congresses in London? When are they held? Are there other big Salsa/Bachata/Latin Dance events in London?

SA: The best are “London Cuban Salsa Congress every summer” and “5 Stars Salsa Congress every winter by Mambo City“

SE: Do you only dance Salsa? Or do you maybe promote, DJ, instruct Salsa as well?

SA: Yes L I wish I can do Bachata and Kizomba but looks like I am stuck at the things I can say I am good at.

SE: How has Salsa changed your life?

SA: I have many friends all over the world now because of it J and believe me it’s hard to make friendship in big busy city full of cold people like London thank God Salsa was there for me J

SE: How many days/nights a week do you dance?

SA: 3

SE: Who are your favorite Salseras to dance with?

SA: Susana Montero 

SE: Who are your favorite Salseros in general?

SA: Leon Rose!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hes awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

SE: I mentioned to you that a Salsero friend of mine from Alabama, USA has worked and trained with Super Mario, can you tell me more about your experience with him? What he’s like? His teaching style? What makes him a popular instructor? Why did you decide to learn Salsa from him?

SA: Maybe He’s not a brilliant dancer but he’s defiantly a brilliant teacher he’s making a so many good dancers in short times and he teaches me a lot of thickness and tricks.

SE: Please feel free to add anything else you can or would like to about your overall Salsa experience!

SA: Oh just one thing …. I think the musicality in Latinos and North African people bodies are better than the euros lol People are so alike even in the way they look and behave and dance … many people thought that I am Latino in Miami.

Thanks so much to Ashraf for taking the time to answer my questions about Salsa in London! I really enjoyed what you had to say. I totally agree with your words about the Miami Salseros, how they are warm and friendly, and more into just dancing as opposed to trying to show off all their moves, like in other places. I think my new friendship with this London Salsero is just one example of why the art of Salsa is so beautiful. Like Ashraf said, Salsa connects you to people, it allows you to meet new Salseros, hear about different experiences, and most importantly, share what others are doing to spread the love of Salsa!

Side note: please stay tuned, though it is taking longer than I had anticipated, I am working on a Salsa documentary of my time here in Miami. Many of the people I mentioned in the opening paragraph of this post will be featured in the documentary. Unfortunately, I don't have any footage with Ashraf! That will have to be saved for a London Salsa documentary!