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I went to Sanctuary tonight for Salsa. It took a while to get there because I managed to take a couple of wrong turns. Along the way, I got the scenic detour of Atlanta, including a couple of Marta stations, some strip malls, gas stations, wooded swank residential areas, and the scene around Peachtree. I almost gave up on finding Sanctuary, but I finally found it.

It was worth the trip. Their website claims that the club is located in a strip mall, but they are selling themselves short. It may be a mall, but the exterior does have some architectural interest. The inside is seriously elegant with green marble columns, detail work on the ceiling, and a grand staircase leading upstairs to the dance floor.

The dance floor is a high quality wooden floor. The lighting system pumps out flashing color to match the pulse of the music. The music was consistently lively and well mixed. While I was there (from about Midnight to 3 am when the place closed), the DJ played a mostly even mix of Salsa, Merengue and what I think is Bachata. It sounded a little like Cha-cha, but looked a little like Merengue with a tap step at each side. After conferring with friends in New York, I am certain it was Bachata, a dance I had heard about but never actually seen danced. What looked like a tap step is actually a hip action.

Most of the time the dance floor was full. There were a lot of good dancers out there and a few superior ones. One of them, Victor Olivo and his student, cleared the floor a few times towards the end of the night. They danced Salsa with a succession of sophisticated patterns that were well accented (more staccato than fire salamander). Victor can be contacted for lessons at 770-374-7673 or volivo@hotmail.com.

All in all, Sanctuary was a great place to dance.

Victor Olivo and student dance Salsa at Sanctuary
Photo courtesy of Robert Abrams

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