February 4, 2009

Today I had lunch with Janet Kyle and conducted an informal interview. We had lunch at Pawley’s in 5 Points and it was delicious! Lunch was about an hour and a half. Janet Kyle is a costume designer here in the Greater Columbia area. She has designed and constructed costumes for almost every theatre company in the area including USC, USC Opera, and small travelling groups. Her day job is a hairdresser.

Last year while traveling in Italy she experienced salsa for the first time. As soon as she had her first taste, she was hooked. The following summer she took a weekly private lesson with Tracey at Columbia Ballroom Company. Starting in August she finally felt brave enough to try social dancing. She has been to almost every place in Columbia – Hush, Rust, Salsa Cabana, and several out of town conventions. She has also visited salsa clubs in cities such as Augusta. Below are her personal opinions about each venue.
· Hush – music is often too loud and overplayed; place where the most hardcore dancers go to social dance; narrow dance area and poles in center of the floor make it hard to maneuver around; furniture and overall feel of the place doesn’t allow for a relaxed atmosphere; non-dancers mainly stay towards the back of the club, near the bar
· Rust – Janet’s favorite place to dance; salsa lesson before hand makes it a great place for beginners; more relaxed atmosphere and more conducive to trying something new
· Salsa Cabana – has more non-dancers than other clubs; often non-dancers and dancers are separate groups and the non-dancers “bump and grind” to the reggaeton; reggaeton has a very strong loud pulse and doesn’t require as much dance know-how or technique; often non-dancers are very drunk and not serious about dancing

Janet has attended several conventions out of town and she said they’re a great way to meet people and learn a lot in a short amount of time. It’s also a good way to learn from new teachers and thereby become a more flexible student. She mentioned a convention in Myrtle Beach that is coming up in March. Note to self: check into this more fully once the date nears.
Janet was very fun, outgoing, and informative. She gave me a lot of inside information without sugar-coating it. Hopefully we can become closer friends and salsa buddies!