My wife and I have been coming to Puerto Pollensa for more than twenty years. Until five or six years ago, PP had a lively night life, with music and space for dancing at several locations. It was always possible to find somewhere to dance. This created a wonderful sense of occasion, with many couples getting up and joining in.
Then PP started its Society for the Abolition of Dancing (SAD). One hotel, which had a beautiful forecourt ideal for dancing, covered it with decking, tables and unuseable recliners. Another went in for curtained day beds (rarely occupied) which made it look like a tuberculosis sanatorium. Another’s speciality was mysterious concrete objects resembling WW2 tank traps, guaranteed to fell any dancer. One which had a wonderful pool-side space ideal for dancing decided to chop it up with timber screens mounted on girder frames. This divided guests into depressed huddles of three or four, like prisoners in a Gulag. I now refer to it as Stalag Pollensa.
An important part of the SAD was the removal of groups suitable for dancing, who could play a range of styles and tempi to cover most of the dance genres – ballroom, Latin, jive, etc. These were often replaced by the ubiquitous Flamenco guitarist who always seems to be playing the same tune while guests sit around in respectful but gloomy silence.
Please can one hotel take the initiative, to restore a suitable space for dancing and book an entertainer who know what dancers need? A single competent vocalist with a variety of backing tracks will do. All dancers require is a reasonable flat space without obstructions and a group with a suitable repertoire. Is that too much to ask for? Can we breathe life back into the nightlife of PP?
Puerto Pollensa Regular
Name and address supplied
1 comment
To be able to write a comment, you have to be registered and logged in
What era is this reader living in - the 1940’s? WW2 tank traps, tuberculosis sanatoriums, Stalag (POW camps)….?