We attended the November 10th TDS outing at Vida Lounge. As the weather turns cooler, what better way to get warm than to dance the night away? The location is a slight trek for people downtown without a car, but it isn’t that bad if you’re driving. For those taking the TTC check the website to see whether the street car is running all the way, as switching over to a bus may be required.
Vida Lounge had two floors open, where there were two lessons provided at the beginning of the evening. Upstairs the main dancefloor is a skinny rectangle with a bar area running down the length of one side. The dancefloor being similar to Plaza Flamingo’s, became progressively sticky as it is not a wooden floor.
Bar service was quick and efficient and coat check was included with the cover. There were two DJs during the evening, and the first was DJ Aragato. His set was far from spectacular with sudden song changes, silence between songs, lengthy sets of poorly chosen merengue followed by lengthy sets of bachata. His repertoire of salsa music ranged from old overplayed romatica, to songs that were not exactly danceable. Pair that up with the small cramped dancefloor and the first few hours were not the best. Later in the evening a much more professional DJ replaced the amateur and things livened up. Luckily for all there were plenty of friendly faces from TDS and I think everyone had a good time.
Not to become one of our favorite of locations, but the outing was filled with dances from TDS friends and students.
Vida Lounge
1345 St. Clair Ave. West
416-690-1345
Cover: $10 during TDS outing
Regular Weekly Event: Tuesday, Vida Mexicana
Our Ratings
Dancefloor: 2
Ambiance: 3
Music: 2
Dancers: 3
Fun Factor: 3
Overall: 13 (out of 25)
