Star Interviews | Salsa UK

According to Leon Rose, he didn’t chose salsa as a career – he started teaching one night a week, then two, then it gradually took over his life.

But, the thing is this something like teaching, performing, choreographing and creating salsa doesn’t take over your life by accident – it’s all in your attitude to everything. And alongside the talent that Leon undoubtedly has, he has other things in spades, such as drive, determination, creativity, and a competitive streak.

Plus, as he puts it, an addiction to “Standing in front of a room full of people teaching salsa and talking into a microphone….”

So, how did he start? According to him, “I walked into a salsa club and a girl asked me to dance. I was sold!!

“Also, I’m very competitive – I saw the dance and I wanted to be like those people doing the moves and the spins. When I’m half decent at something, I work to make myself better and to be the best.”

And initially, it was the movement that interested him. “For me it was just the dance,” he says, “It wasn’t so much the music at the beginning, although I love it now I had always been interested in dance before I tried salsa.. It was just that I happened to walk into a salsa club and got completely drawn in.”

But Leon didn’t just have to learn salsa along the way, he also had to hone his well developed people skills and change things a little as he progressed as a teacher and performer.

He explains, “In the beginning it was difficult – I used to go to clubs with friends and watch people dancing, because I love watching people dancing; but it gradually dawned on me that some people misinterpreted that as arrogance. It wasn’t, it was just me relaxing! But as a teacher and as a performer the students are the most important thing and sometimes people do find it difficult to talk to a salsa teacher. So I made a concerted effort to mingle with everyone and make sure everyone knew I was approachable.”

But soon distant climes beckoned and Leon began teaching and performing around the world, and this, he believes, boosted his imagination and creative juices..
“From travelling I get more inspiration, meet a lot of different dancers, see a lot of different shows,” he says. “When you’re in one place and at a certain level, you get to a stage where there are not many people you can look to for inspiration.”

“I love travelling, and I love languages, and I love meeting new people,” he continues. “If I hadn’t started to do that I may not have got the stimulus to do more in the salsa world.”

Leon’s love of travel and new things is also reflected in the way he works.

“I’m a creative person and if I’m not creating, I’m not happy. I need to be working on something new and having new ideas and making new routines and travelling to different places. “

But above all, he loves teaching salsa. He says, “I love creating something that’s personal to me, teaching it and then seeing people dancing the routines I’ve taught them.”

As well as the teaching, which is a kind of performance in itself, there is also the choreographer, always looking for inspiration and ideas. So, where do they come from?

For Leon, the triggers come in different ways..
“I can hear a piece of music,” he explains “and I can listen to that music and close my eyes and visualise a show. You have the breaks and I can see things happening in the breaks and be inspired.”

“I’ve also created routines from one move and built on that,” he continues.

“I like to think laterally when I’m creating. One time I created a show by choosing a colour. It’s called the Red Show and I danced it with Ieishah from New York.”

As for the most recent routine, Man’s World, that didn’t come easily at all.

“It was a difficult one to get going,” he explains. “I loved the song, but didn’t know what to do with it. It took a couple of months to get the right idea and then it just flowed. I have to feel inside it’s the right thing – I’ve ditched hundreds of routines after a few bars when I knew it was the wrong thing to do.”

And it’s important to Leon that he’s completely individual in his choreography: “ I don’t like to feel I’m thinking along the same lines as everyone else. I like to be unique in what I do!”

So, out of all the different facets of his salsa career, what does this teacher/choreographer/performer enjoy the most?

“Teaching,” he says emphatically. “I enjoy entertaining a room full of people in a class and that comes easy to me; whereas the performing can be much harder – those nerves can be terrible, especially the first time you perform a routine.”

“When I’m teaching I’m in full control of what’s going on, whereas in a performance you never know what reaction you’re going to get.”

“Having said that,” he continues, “The energy you get from an audience when you’re performing spurs you on. When people smile and cheer it really boosts you and makes you give even more.”

So, with so much going on already , what next for Leon Rose?

“I have a couple of group routines I’m working on, plus one with my partner, Susana Montero,” he says.

But salsa or not, “Wherever I can create that’s what I’ll be doing.”

Chris chatted to Leon Rose at SOS, Tavistock Place, London