Dancing is a great way to relax and have fun and a number of UCSD grads are into salsa. Here's some info on where to dance and how to get started if you don't already know.
Places to Dance
1.) La Jolla Marriott—Character's Bar and Grille
Fridays and Saturdays 8pm-1:30am
Every weekend tons of people pour into the La Jolla Mariott off Executive Dr and Genessee. (across the street from the Mesa Graduate Housing). Cover is $10. Features a DJ and occassionally a live band. There are often dance performances. The crowd is diverse in terms of age, ethnicity, and level of dancing. It can get very crowded from 11pm-1am so be prepared to get bumped and to do some apologizing. The floor is decent but a little sticky in places.
2.) Cafe Sevilla—Downtown/Gaslamp
Tuesday-Thursday 9pm-2am
Very popular place to salsa in San Diego (possibly the longest continuously operating salsa club in San Diego). Cover is $8. Tuesday and Thursday there's a live band, wednesday features a DJ. The dancing is in the basement of Cafe Sevilla and the ceiling is low. The crowd is generally late 20's to early 30's. Wednesday and Thursday are the most crowded nights.
3.) Hot Monkey Love Cafe
Sundays 9pm-1am
6875 El Cajon Blvd; San Diego, CA 92115
A very relaxed crowd and less intimidating than other places because there a lots of beginners. One of very few places that allow people under 21, so you may run into one of your students. DJ music. The club recently changed locations and it has much more space for dancing than the previous space.
4.) There are many more clubs and regular dance events in San Diego. Check out the website [htttp://www.salsasandiego.net] for information on clubs, events, lessons, and dance teams.
Dance Lessons
There are a number of places on campus to get salsa lessons
1.) RIMAC
RIMAC offers a "latin dance" class in which they teach salsa and various ballroom styles of latin dancing like cha-cha and rumba. The course is around 8 weeks and costs about $26 for the quarter. There are also many classes on other styles of dance such as: swing, hip hop, tango, belly dancing, ballroom dancing and more. Go to the RIMAC class website to find out more: [http://recreation.ucsd.edu/clss/]
2.) Theater and Dance Department
The Dance department offers some undergraduate level courses in basic dance instruction that you can register for on Tritonlink. The courses are in the Dance/Movement section. The dance class is "Latin Dances of the World" some times this course features salsa and sometimes it does not, it depends on the instructor. The section ID is TDMV 142. The course fills up very quickly, so register for it early!
3.) UCSD Rueda Club
Rueda is a Cuban style of salsa in which couples dance in a large circle and switch partners according to calls. The calling is similar to the caller in square dancing. The club meets once a week on campus for lessons and practice. They go on outings and have social dancing events. For more information email ude.dscu|adeur#ude.dscu|adeur
For additional information on clubs, dance classes, private lessons off-campus visit: [http://www.salsasandiego.net]
