KCR Summer 2024 Magazine FINAL 1 - Flipbook - Page 40
Let9s Salsa
at Lou Casteau
Have you every marvelled at the swan-like performances magically
served up by celebrity dancers on Strictly Come Dancing only two or
three weeks after having initially dribbled about like headless chickens?
Practice makes perfect and dance is no diferent.
a super guy. Special mention also to Christian Jean-Francois, Lukas
prize winner of Best Kizomba teacher who graced the occasion and
made me aware of his work with OSSR www.oursalsasoul.com . He is a
big gun and teacher to everyone
I know we9ve all wanted to trip the light fantastic and impress our partners, family, onlookers or even just our own selves but above hubristic
recognition is the universally accepted fact that dance is a joyous and
uplifting activity. One hour of salsa dancing is guaranteed to release all
the right endorphins to combat stress most efectively and boost your
mood and senses.
The food is catered for by Matteo and his wife Silvia is an integral part of
the total package of wonderment that is Lou Costeau. It is homecooked
Mediterranean face with a polished, gourmet touch that keeps you
coming back for seconds and thirds and year on year as most regulars
at the retreat will conorm. Every meal is a hearty treat be it omelettes
and fruit and nuts at breakfast or pasta bakes and salads and sometimes
even a chicken curry for lunch. Dinners are obviously grand considering
the themed dance nights and dressing-up is the norm in keeping with
the programme. Elegant wines lubricate all social gatherings at Lou
Costeau but it all coincides fabulously with a perfectly packed itinerary of otness activities and imminent dance sessions which ensures a
robust, positive jollity all day long.
Now what if you could learn to salsa or improve your skills at a gorgeous
luxurious holiday retreat in Cote d9Azur with lessons from top professionals, complementary otness classes to keep you in good shape and
the experience further embellished by the most exquisite food and drink
in the South of France and an extra dollop of a bunch of lovely people
who share the passion for dance but also know how to have a lot of fun.
The heady mix of sun, fun, food and dance is the Salsa retreat at Château Lou Casteou, an hour9s drive away from Nice and forty-ove minutes
from Cannes. It is an immaculately luxurious home-away-from-home
run by the lovely couple of Morag and Chris. They ofer innovatively
packaged experiences variously also focused on tennis and otness along.
Dances covered during the salsa retreat include Cross body salsa, Cuban
salsa, bachata, kizomba, chacha, semba, merengue, regaetton, and
funaná! Once bitten, most visitors can9t wait to get back, year on year, to
the sheer pleasure of the communal experience at Lou Casteou.
It is a destination accommodation with a lovely swimming pool, ensuite
bedrooms, wondrous terraces, cosy lounges, and glorious surroundings
that boast both sea and mountain views. The charm and grandeur of the
property coupled with the owners9 hands-on approach has transformed
it into a multi-purpose building which is even available for 8Shoot &
Stay9 rentals with Simon Cowell having used it as the X-Factor 8Judges9
home in one of the earlier series as well as weddings and special events.
Let9s set the scene for this fabulous retreat. The invitation very succinctly states:
9Join us for a four day luxury, gastronomical Latin and Afro-Dance
event. Your stay will include accommodation in the stunning château in
en-suite bedrooms with sea or mountain views. Set in the beautiful Côte
d9Azur countryside, minutes from the sea, dances taught include Salsa,
Kizomba, Semba, Bachata, Cuban Salsa, ChaCha, Merengue, Regaetton
and Afrobeat.9
Morag McLaren, the hostess with the mostest, is a semi-professional
dancer, an uber-professional businesswoman and a top-class soul!! A
superb organiser with a penchant for keeping hectic afairs bubbling
along without hitches and with minimal stress. It is extremely tough
to put together these retreats but she carries it of with amazing onesse
and nonchalant grace The spirit of Morag is key to everything at Lou
Costeau. Her hands-on approach is evident in every little detail of the
property which has been lovingly recovered from the ruins of Lord Amherst of London9s original home from 1904.
However, the dance retreat is very much a team efort and every person
employed for the four-day event is a thorough professional with a
valuable lesson to impart. There9s Dave Higgins 3 the otness guru and
a vital glue to the entire programme - who keeps each and every dancer
in shape for the vigorously regular classes that ensue over the happily-intense period of 96 hours or so. The teachers/dancers know each
other well and feed of each other and the delightful camaraderie is a
wondrous afair with absolutely none of the Strictly Come Dancing rivalry vibes here. Tim Rowe will regale you with stories of his time in Cuba
whilst adroitly answering any queries and concerns about your dancing
style. Simon will salsa into your heart whilst making sure you shake
those hips right and John 8Let9s Salsa9 Hylton will make you laugh and
sweat all the way to making you a better dancer. They are all heroes.
I can never thank John enough for his belter of a otness/dance class
which fully harnessed the power of Amapiano 3 that beautiful bastard of
subgenre that combines kwaito and house music or for Tim making me
feel right at home or Simon for discussing curry and Dave for just being
It doesn9t just end there. Beyond the myriad walks to be had around
the area, the dips in the lovely swimming pool, champagne receptions,
dinners in the cloisters and beautiful sunshine that splashes all across
Lou Casteau, there is the added comfort of having dedicated guests and
learners from far and wide that form the core of the retreat. Guests are
encouraged to book in, if possible, as couples so that they can always
avail of a partner to dance with when returning home but solo travellers
are always welcome at Lou Casteau and partners provided readily. Most
return every six months or annually to re-experience the magic at the retreat. I had the good fortune of hanging out with regulars such as Kirsa
and Piotrek, Benta, Kate, Madawi, Michael, Ligia, Diane, Stephane and
Denise George - the latter being Morags son - and his lovely girlfriend
Hannah! They were an absolute joy to be with and I shall always cherish
the four days I spent with all those lovely people. In fact, I shall return
very shortly in October 2024 and continue my quest to improve my
salsa or meet some stupendously lovely people, gorge on some fabulous
food, joke around with Tim, Dave, John, Christian and Simon, swim in
that heavenly pool or get that one-on-one lesson from Morag once again
if possible. I can9t wait!!
Sid Raghava
www.loucasteou.com
Book your Places NOW!
4 Day Luxury Dance Retreat 10th-13th October 2024
www.loucasteou.com/salsa-retreat
