Hathor

It was a bright Friday morning in February when my sister, Jill, and I travelled to Brean Sands on the Somerset coast to spend the weekend at Pontins Holiday Camp where we were to take part in an Arab dance weekend being run in association with 'Salsa Passion' by Club Cubana.

Jacqui Jamal, Jill Osborne and Amel Tafsout were to be our dance teachers for the weekend. Having already done several workshops with Jacqui and Jill I was keen to sample Algerian dance for the first time with Amel.

The Arab dance classes were all held in one venue, a large ballroom with stage, excellent sound system and resident DJ who made sure that taped music was right on cue. One side of the ballroom was allocated to a Souk where just about everybody found something. It must be very difficult on a mixed ability weekend like this for teachers to gear their classes for all levels of dancer but with this in mind there were one or two workshops specifically aimed at the beginner. Jacqui managed to put everyone through their paces, helping those who had never danced before (there were plenty) and encouraging those of us who have had some experience to stretch ourselves.

Jacqui was accompanied by John who played drum, (dancing with a live drummer always adds an extra zing to a class), while Amel was joined by Saleh-Dawson Miller, her husband and an excellent musician. Amel's classes were pure pleasure. At the beginning of her first class she decided to join us on the dance floor, to be amongst us sharing the dance with us. At one point I took a break from dancing to catch my breath and just watch the class from the sidelines. I didn't have to try to guess whether the dancers were enjoying themselves as every single dancer had a smile!

Saturday evening was rounded off with a performance platform and hafla held in the ballroom. After a day full of wonderful dance the atmosphere was warm and friendly, with everyone swapping ideas for costumes and picking up tips for dance combinations.

This was the first event of its kind organised in conjunction with Club Cubana but I sincerely hope not the last.

By the way if you were wondering - yes, Jill and I did do a Salsa class - just one.

What a weekend!