Okay, right off the bat, I must admit I’m writing this column for a certain reason. I am an avid salsa dancer. My co-workers can testify to this, having listened daily to tales of new moves I’ve learned on the dance floor, including being “flipped” one time.
So the news that the Boathouse, a restaurant on Santa Monica Pier that has been in existence for 50 years, will soon be replaced with a chain restaurant is sorely disappointing for one main reason-no more afternoon dancing by the sea.
For the past five years, dancers of all types, ages and skill levels have danced their hearts out at the Boathouse on Sunday afternoons. I only discovered this jewel last year. This weekend I took my 5-year-old son to what was most likely the last time salsa fans will be able to dance, laugh, watch the sunset and generally have a helluva good time-all for five bucks. It has been sponsored by promoter Albert Torres, who puts together the most fantastic salsa dance venues in Los Angeles, including the Salsa Congress at the Hollywood Casino and Friday nights at the Sportsman’s Lodge in Studio City.
What’s great about the Boathouse, aside from the price and location, is that you can bring your whole family and dance without worries. On Sunday, my son and another boy, age 7, practiced their moves to the delight of the adult dancers.
Los Angeles Times columnist Al Martinez wrote about the Boathouse’s coming demise, saying, “… it saddens me to see a place rich with tradition disappear from the waterfront.”
The restaurant has offered casual dining for 50 years, operated by the same family, a rare find in Santa Monica with all the gentrification that is taking place. And the last five years added a ritual of another family-the salsa family.
Some hope that something miraculous will happen-such as another appeal being upheld to allow the owners of the Boathouse to continue their lease-and the dancing will go on. If not, maybe the owners of the Bubba Gump chain, which is slated to replace the Boathouse, will see the value of allowing people from all walks of life to engage in “something very beautiful” (in Torres’ words), but probably not.
Torres has been looking for another venue for his Sunday soires, but it is nearly impossible to find something as affordable.
One man told Torres dancing at the Boathouse is his salvation. It brings him out of his depression.
A friend of mine calls the Boathouse his “church.”
We salsa dancers won’t die when the Sunday dancing does; there are other places to go. But there will be no more dancing to sunsets by the sea.
And that is sad.