The Latin Low-down

The Salsa Sage meets with NEERAJ MASKARA

Suited and Booted and Ready to Go!

When you see new people start to learn salsa, can you tell which are the ones that will travel far in salsa land, who will become the teachers, performers, choreographers, promoters of tomorrow? And do they know - is that what they dream of, or is it something that just happens as they become slowly drawn in to this new world? And how do the ones that begin on that journey make the transition from student to teacher, to performer?

Management consultant by day, dancer, teacher and choreographer at weekends, and self confessed party animal, Neeraj Maskara’s star is in the ascendant, so his move from eager student to a mover and shaker on the salsa scene is relatively recent. As far as he’s concerned, the salsa thing just happened, and he’s enjoying every minute of it. And dancing itself has always been part of his life.

“In India, everyone dances; music and performance and dance are all around you, so I grew up with it”, he said when I caught up with him on one of his rare visits to the UK... “I have always been fond of being on the dance floor, and did hip hop and jazz ballet, but I had no formal training.”

For those of us who fall in love with salsa there is always one defining moment when we know it has absolutely got us eating out of the palm of its Latin hand. And for Neeraj his epiphany came very early on, right at the beginning in fact, when he first walked into a Latin American club in New York about seven years ago.. “It was a revelation!” he says, “There was the most amazing atmosphere I have ever felt; I was in New York, but I felt I was in the Caribbean. The music just wanted to make you move, and I noticed immediately the tremendous social engagement with people. Here were strangers asking each other to dance, and connecting in just three minutes – something you see elsewhere with much choreography and practice.”

And so Neeraj began, like the rest of us, as a student just wanting to learn to dance. After just a couple of lessons in the Big Apple, he moved to Vienna.

However learning salsa wasn’t as easy as he’d anticipated, due to a dearth of venues and teachers. But he took classes when and where he could.

“I was terrible,” says Neeraj. “But I wanted to learn so much, I pushed it a bit and pestered some of my friends to practice salsa with me – some of the ladies must hate me!! I became obsessed with all sorts of turns and what patterns four arms and four legs can do on the dance floor.”!

Inevitably, soon enough, weekly classes weren’t enough for learn dancer, and he took his next step on the salsa journey when he attended his first Salsa Congress in Darmstadt in Germany in 2001.

Says Neeraj, “I was completely floored by the idea of 1000 people flying into ONE city just for dancing. And after that experience I just wanted more, so I went to as many congresses as I could afford for the next year.”

“I spent most of my wages on them,” he continues, “but I wanted to learn all these wonderful things and enjoy them.”

So, how, then did Neeraj take the leap from being a student to becoming a teacher?

“At some point “, he explains, “ I realised that many people in the classes would come and ask me, “how did you do that move?”, and I would break it down for people, and they would say, “you should become a teacher. So I did.”

Back in Vienna I started my own class and within a year I had 100 to 150 regular dancers.”

So, is the next step naturally to choreograph and perform? Obviously, not for everyone, but for Neeraj it evolved out of creative curiosity and his cultural background.

“My upbringing in India meant I was always used to dancing in front of people. I was a singer, musician, model, actor – let me say, I am not scared of embarrassment!

His debut was at the Barcelona Congress. And no, it wasn’t a success!! But Neeraj viewed it as a learning experience.

“I am from a marketing background, so in my view it is, until they like it it is was it is. Learn from it, accept it and move on. Everyone choreographs a show giving their best – no-one choreographs a bad show.”

This one set-back was a small blip in his move upwards through the salsa ranks, however, and Neeraj has become a sought-after teacher and perfomer at congresses throughout Europe over the last couple of years.

And now, he feels he has developed his own style, gathering inspiration from a number of dances who have helped in the development and complexity of the kind of salsa we now enjoy.

“Putting all these inspirations together,” he says, “combined with my personal background and personality, I’d like to believe I’ve now created a way of dancing of my own which I am happy with.”

But if you think that Neeraj is a full time teacher, dancer and choreographer, you would be wrong, “if I was only a workaholic or a salsaholic there would be something missing; I love the balance of it.

“I like being a suited, booted management consultant during the week, and a young, crazy party animal over the weekend,” he continues, “Both parts of my life complement each other.”

And, what next for Neeraj, who like many, didn’t start Salsa as a career path, but has found himself recently at the forefront of the salsa world, simply because of a love of dance and desire to learn. And that something extra, obviously!

“I have already accomplished more than I’ve dreamed of because it keeps me fit, travelling, social and passionate. Not many people have the chance to do this so it’s a privilege. It won’t last forever, so I enjoy it whilst I’ve got It.!

Watch this space…….

Chris Penhall caught up with Neeraj Maskara at the first Planet Salsa Event, in Essex, where he was teaching and performing with dance partner, Ania Chagowska.

www.neerajmaskara.com

Copyright Chris Penhall 2007

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