Copacabana, on Dale Street, Manchester is a full-time Latin venue which is now in its 12th year.It is open 5 nights a week, Tuesday to Saturday, and they have classes in different styles of salsa every night – check the website for details of which style is on which night, and times etc.
Copacabana is also a restaurant so you can go early and have a meal of authentic tapas and Latin American food.
We arrived quite early, though the classes had finished and dancing had already started.Despite the fact that we were there around 9.45pm, there were still quite a lot of people in the club, and within an hour it was already pretty full.
We paid £3.50 to get in, but the price went up to £5 later in the evening.There is a cloakroom which is very cheap to use, at only 50p per item, and bar prices were also reasonable.
If you want to have a real Latin experience, they sell lots of Spanish and Latin drinks, including a bottled beer with Tequila added, called Desperado!
This club attracts not just salseros, but also quite a few people who think they can dance – and I’m not talking about beginners here, I’m talking about ‘salsa tourists’ who do tend to try to get you to dance and also ask you to teach them to dance.It can be a little irritating especially when they are very drunk, but it’s quite easy to keep out of their way.
Copacabana has a real Latin feel, complete with Latin decoration and artwork inside.There was also a real party atmosphere here, and everyone was having so much fun.There is quite a large Latin community in Manchester, and many Latinos go to this club, which also gives it an authentic Latin feel.
Right from the time we arrived to the time we left, the music was absolutely fantastic!There was not one bad track all night, not even when they played a few samba and Latin pop type tracks, as all were danceable.The DJ played a great mix of all types of music i.e. salsa, cha cha cha, merengue, cumbia, bachata and reggaeton.
There are two separate dancefloors, one smaller than the other.The rest of the floor surrounding the actual dancefloors is made of ceramic tiles, so people dance on these areas too, so there is quite a lot of space for dancing.
One downside here is that this venue is below street level, and so has no ventilation, and inevitably it gets very, very hot.There is air conditioning, but it just doesn’t seem to be able to cope with the heat.At times it is unbearably hot here, though it has to be said, it didn’t stop me from having a great night.
I had only been to this club twice before, and I think the last time I went must be almost two years ago.Despite the problem with the heat and being collared by a couple of drunks/non-dancers, I did have a fantastic night here.
The music was awesome and I had some great dances.I made some new friends and bumped into some people that I’ve not seen for a while too.As is usually the case at salsa clubs, I saw a few familiar faces whom I’d met at other gigs across the country.The salsa world really is extremely small.
All in all it was a really good night and it made a really nice change to go somewhere other than my usual haunts.
Address:
Copacabana
Sevendale House
Dale Street
Northern Quarter
Manchester
M1 2HF
