Esakallio Dance Magic

Kati and Jones

There was a special atmosphere last night at Esakallio. For those of you not from Finland, Esakallio is one of the three large dance venues here in Somero. Some people have even moved to live in Somero because of the great dancing possibilities and I can easily understand why.

Last night we were also joined by the lovely Kati Koivisto and Jones Kainulainen, who brought with them a bus full of dancers from Pori. They led the rumba lesson at the beginning of the evening, and by nine o'clock the place was already very busy. As I have mentioned before, Kati and Jones are a couple who obviously have a love of dance, but what is more tangible still is their enthusiasm for life. It would be impossible to go to one of their lessons and not feel better afterwards. I have already agreed with Kati that if I ever get married again, then she and Jones will come and give a dance lesson to all the guests at the wedding. That way we will be guaranteed a good party...

Jari Aaltonen dancing the rumba

"Lavatanssit" in Finland is a tradition which is special to Scandinavia and is a past time loved by many. Hundreds of people of all ages gather together in an atmosphere which is friendly and not full of drunk people, as was the case in the clubs I used to work in as a DJ. It is easy to go to these dances alone as you are guaranteed to be asked to dance and will have plenty of opportunities to meet and dance with new people.

Last night we were also entertained by the band Hurme and the duo Matti and Teppo, who have already been touring the dance circuit for many years. There are few houses in Finland without a Matti and Teppo cd somewhere on one of the shelves.

Having only known salsa myself before moving to Finland, I am now starting to become familiar with the waltz, tango, bugg, foxtrot and fusku as well as the sensual rumba which is my favourite after salsa. But even if you have never danced before in your life, you will quickly catch on (lots of men do the same steps all night...no matter what the music playing...) you will find plenty of people to dance with, make new friends and go home feeling rejuvenated. And it's definitely a more enjoyable way to exercise than a 5km run.

So, we still have the whole summer ahead of us and lots of dancing opportunities. Esakallio is open every Friday, and Ämyri every Saturday. I hope to see you there some time!