Salsa may not be the first thing that comes tto mind when you think of Belfast, but Claire & I are old dancing buddies so it was the natural thing for us to do on a Friday night.
The Empire is on a street that has plenty of nightlife, in fact there's a seperate bar right underneath it, should you want to start gently.
The salsa club is held in what seems to be an old theatre, there's a raised gallery at one end & a stage at the other, with the dance floor in between. The bar is down one side as is one of those mahogany & etched mirror jobs, very 19thc!
The night starts with a salsa class, useful whether you are a complete beginner or just want a bit more practice. They really can teach you enough to get started, but like most of these places, you don't need to be able to dance the dance, any old dance steps will do as long as you're enjoying yourself. This goes on for about an hour, giving non-dancers or professionals plenty of time at the bar. Then the real fun starts, the instructors are replaced by a live band who are all set on helping you dance the night away. We had a great time there but did manage to tire ourselves out long before it actually shut, for a Brit that's quite a novelty in itself, as on the Mainland places shut an awful lot earlier...
One last thing, take a look upwards when you go in or out of the main building, the ceiling is a bit special too.