For the many inmates at Central Prison Bangalore, salsa was not a term they may have been acquainted with before. But that is exactly what they got to enjoy and experience in the two-week salsa workshop that Daniel Clifford, a salsa dancer and trainer  conducted for them recently. Daniel  proposed this concept  to the Additional Commissioner of Prison, H A R Ramesh. “The police department was very interested in my proposal, for they thought this kind of dance therapy can have a positive influence on the prisoners. The class itself turned out to be an amazing success, as more than 170 prisoners joined up for the workshop on the first day, and they were very interested in learning the dance technique,” says Daniel. The workshop that he conducted in January had a two-week course on salsa, samba, Cha Cha Cha and other Latin dance forms. The workshop was also filmed by BBC Worldwide.

Daniel has been a salsa dancer for almost 10 years now and has travelled to South Africa to professionally get trained in each of the dance forms. He has a dance school in Mumbai, and conducts short workshops in Bangalore too in association with Studio 5678.  He says that dance is a medium that instills confidence in people.  “Dance provides you with a platform to shed all your inhibitions, and learn to enjoy yourself. Also salsa is a very vigorous and vibrant dance that has immense health benefits too,” he says.

And for those of you planning on joining up the classes, Daniel says that joining the right dance school is most important. “Bangalore has a handful of certified talented salsa dance trainers. It  is important that your trainer knows what you are looking for, else the satisfaction from learning the dance will not be there,” he says.  Daniel himself is planning on a short workshop in Bangalore before heading off to South Africa for further training. The  workshop will include a 10-day course for children and adults on salsa and other dances starting from April 10. Call 99721 82300 / 98453 80206.