I was out in San Francisco this week for work Tuesday is one of my favorite nights because there is Salsa at Club Fluxus. They feature a live band. The club is located near the Dragon's Gate, just a street south of China Town, and in an alley behind the Hotel des Arts. The Uber app has a real hard time finding the place.
I have been out to several places in the city for Salsa Dancing. I like the Cigar Bar on Fridays and Club Fluxus on Tuesdays. They have live bands and great crowds. I have visited Bissap Baobab and El Valenciano on Wednesdays. Baobab was nice, but the crowd is very young and casually dressed and El Valenciano seems to cater to regulars who are known or presumed to be elite dancers.
I dressed in a Cache shirt dress. It is a shirt dress with buttons and long sleeves, but it is short and cut like a slinky sheath dress. I wore blue suede high heeled sandals, with small blue Kate Spade bag. I began the night with drinks at the Saratoga. This is a classy whisky bar on Post and Larkin. The neighborhood is interesting. There are drug users and transsexual prostitutes; but here stands a classy bar with lots of brown liquor on wooden shelves. I have become a regular here; I sat down and had a nice conversation with the bar manager, Melinda. Then I began to talk with the guy next to me. He seemed to relax in terms with me when I was talking to Melinda about normal things, like her upcoming graduation and thesis. He was a doctor that traveled around the country to perform surgeries, interesting. After some talk he struck an interesting point. I explained how I had moved from Transgender and Gay themed places to places that are more mainstream. He asked how it was, wasn't it nerve wracking, going to places that are not obviously "safe".
After a couple of drinks I called a Lyft and went to Club Fluxus for salsa dancing. If you are not familiar with salsa dancing, in most places, people dance with everyone, a dance is just a dance, with no connotations of romantic or sexual interest, just 4 minutes for two people to create something temporary and beautiful. I suspect the swing dancing scene is somewhat the same. The band was excellent. When the band goes on break, one of the band members remembers me and usually comes by, gives me a hug, and thanks me for coming. I do not get asked to dance a lot. In fact, at first I was nervous to do so. I thought that maybe, the guy did not see exactly what he was getting into, its dark, he saw me from behind, and when he realized he was dancing with a "trannie", he might get mad. So, I always said no. Lately I have been dancing. This time, a tall, nerdy hipster guy asked me to dance. His dance style was totally silly and campy, but fun. Another guy asked me, a business man in a suit, mid 40's. I do not know if he figured me out. He kept apologizing for his lack of skill, but he was OK. I have been dancing for some time, mostly as a guy, but these times, I find being led around the dance floor to be very enjoyable. Then, a woman who I met a few times there showed up. She wanted to dance with me. Then she planted a big kiss on my lips. She was there with her boyfriend. I asked her to stop because she was being disrespectful to him. I looked over at him and he just smiled, shrugged, and pointed his hands upward, palms up. All good, but time to go.
I decided to go to one more spot before heading back to the hotel. I went to Aunt Charlies. On Tuesdays they have a very rowdy Drag Show. They also serve very large drinks. I ordered a Maker's Mark neat. They poured what would be a double and a half in most places. The drag show was done, and people were milling about. I drank about 30% of my drink and headed back to the hotel to sleep.
