Social Dancing in Vietnam
User phoenix_electric
Hi Everyone!
I posted a few weeks ago about dancing in Germany and Vietnam. I’m back from my trip and this is how it went:
We cancelled our trip to Germany due to COVID-19.
I got some dancing in Vietnam. It was super terrifying at first. I got a couple of dances in, and woman-ed up and asked some leads to dance. It wasn’t too bad. I even made a friend and chatted with the club owners for a little bit! My new friend invited me out to a social later that week that I was able to come out to. We’re now connected on Whatsapp and she took a video of me dancing cuban salsa! It was my first time dancing that style. It was rough, but I didn’t do too bad.
Overall, I feel a lot more confident dancing and boy am I going to miss it these upcoming weeks. Thank you everyone that helped me out in the first thread. It was a good experience and I hope to have more like it in the future!
Salsa, bachata and kizuomba are popular in Vietnam.There were two large festivals/congesos that were going to be hosted in Hoi An and HaNoi. I think they got cancelled due to COVID19. Some clubs will play salsa, bachata and zouk. I travelled to Saigon and Da Nang. Latin dancing is very popular in Saigon. There is at least one social every day. In Da Nang, there are like 3 socials a week, which I unfortunately I couldn’t attend.
I visited La Danza, Lush and Havana Club. All were in District 1: like the downtown area of any city. None of them had a cover when I went. There is an expectation that you purchase at least two drinks to support the club though. A beer is about $3 and a cocktail will run you around $6. I joined the Salsa in Saigon Facebook group to keep up to date with all the events.
In terms of the crowd: there was a mix of expats and local guys and mostly local girls and some expats. Everyone’s very friendly. The expats are more likely to chat you up. Most people will speak English unless you confirm that you speak Vietnamese. My new friend was telling me if I go for like two weeks, people will start to try to get to know you. Pretty friendly people, considering I’m just getting to know people in my hometown and I’ve been on the scene for a year now! I normally thank people with a hug after a dance. Expats will hug but locals are less likely to.
Dancing: Cuban and LA style salsa is popular there. There is a more delicate/subtle touch. It took me a few dances to get the hang of it. It was pretty obvious I was american with my giant clunky steps and big moves. I was identified pretty quickly as a strong bachata dancer! I got a lot of more complex bachata dances. I left happy.
I am definitely planning to go back, maybe for a congress.
Let me know if this helps or if you have any additional questions!
