The Anzac Day long weekend saw 800+ dancers, 34 instructors (including 6 International instructors), 200+ performers, numerous DJs and of course 2 International Latin singer sensations descend on the University of Sydney’s Manning Bar for what was an inspiring (and exhausting) 4 nights and 3 days of workshops, concerts and parties. The venue featured 2 levels and 3 rooms, an outdoor food court and necessarily long bar (not to mention some very funky installation art) and was located only 10 minutes from the official accommodation, before-party venue Illuminati and Glebe Point Road’s myriad worldly eateries and markets. Eager bachateros filled it to the bream, travelling from all over Australia, as well as from international destinations including New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and the USA to be a part of the fun. SIBF 2010: a recipe for success if ever there was one!

Daylight hours saw dancers from beginner to professional levels taking non-stop workshops in bachata, kizomba, zouk, latin hip-hop, reggaeton and samba d’gafieira. The number of bachata styles offered was a testament to the diversity and popularity of the dance, and bachateros were exposed to new flavours and emerging styles. Australia’s hottest instructors, including (but of course not limited to) Nestor and Katrina, Juan and Samantha, Josie Cote, Allan and Amy, Oliver and Yvonne brought their flair to packed out workshops. International Youtube bachata stars Ataca (Jorge) and La Alemana (Tanja) shared their signature moves, with many dancers who couldn’t fit in their workshops simply sitting back and watching in awe. Jorge and Leslie returned for a second year and again wowed us with their hottest turn patterns and Bachata Caliente sexy styling, and the truly stunning Serena Cuevas got bachateros’ bodies (and eyes) moving in ways they hadn’t before with her body-movement sessions.

The evenings brought together record numbers of dancers and performers who filled the venue and, as if their feet weren’t sore, danced to the best latin DJ’s and new tunes by Mi Tierra band. Each and every show we saw by the internationals, local professionals and students added to what was a vibrant mix of styles and stories. Highlights included a heart-wrenching solo by Larissa Thayane and her wonderful zouk with Kadu, Nestor and Katrina’s hot new funky bachata number, a gorgeous duet by Moro and Fernando and of course not forgetting the stand-out numbers by our internationals Jorge, Leslie and Serena, and the performance of Ataca y La Alamanas 9million-times-viewed-on-Youtube bachata routine Te Extrano. It was clear that bachata is no longer considered the slow dance played only at the end of the night, but has developed into one of the hottest, most diverse and playful dances in Australia’s latin scene.

On the final night we had the pleasure of welcoming two of THE biggest names in bachata music to the Sydney stage.  Prophex and his crew hotted-up the dancefloor with both their most well-known and some new bachata and reggaeton numbers. A host of gorgeous backup dancers (and two water bottles) helped make the Prophex show one to remember! Next up was international bachata superstar Jimmy Bauer. Serenading us with some of our favourite bachata tunes live in concert, Jimmy ended with the ever romantic Por Ti, getting everyone’s hearts a’racing. For one final hoorah, a whopping 800 bachateros broke out (in unison) with the event’s signature routine “freaky, sexy, nasty“.

How to fit all the magic of this year’s Bachata Festival into one short review? Impossible!. When asked of their stand-out moments most attendees replied “everything between Thursday and Monday”. Nestor, Juan and Sky have done a wonderful job in promoting bachata throghout Australia with this action-packed, fun-filled and inspirational weekend. Now to go home, promote the buggery out of bachata and come up with something even hotter to share with Australia at next year’s festival. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us in 2011!

Peace, love, bachata x

Written by Kari Bowling. Kari is a die hard Bachatera from Adelaide. She teaches salsa, bachata and zumba at Latin Dance Nation in Adelaide. If you see her, make sure you grab a dance with her.

Once again, LinLine led by Lin Hamid and her crew surpassed the audience expectations by organizing another great Malaysia Salsa Festival 2009 (MSF). The beauty of this event is that every year the committee selects a different tropical holiday destination in Malaysia, always choosing some of the top resorts. This year the festival was held at the Legend Resort in Cherating, Pahang. The resort had incredible pools, excellent accommodation, great halls and buffet food. So, if you were too tired to do the workshops or to dance in general, you could enjoy the amenities the resort had on offer.

The event’s vibe was friendly, warm and always welcoming. A big thank you goes to the ground crew who were always ready to help. Once again and as stated on the previous year’s event review, the organizers and the crew ensured that all the guests were treated as friends and family.

It seemed that the MSF had more international guests than local guests. Even though the number of Australians were down compared to last year’s event, this year the Chinese were the largest international group. Representatives were present from the UK, Portugal, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Emirate Arabs, Turkey and of course Malaysia. Overall, the event held a good number of attendees to make use of all the resort’s facilities.

Traditions that were created in previous years were once again carried on at this years event , such as Melbourne’s Spin City Dance team jumping into the pool in full costume after their performance, And every party ended in the pool in the early hours of the morning

All the invited instructors shared their best moves and dance routines with the attendees. The Zouk beginners workshop taught by Lidia and Michael from Modus Vivendi probably saw the biggest number of students at the festival followed by the salsa workshops taught by Nuno and Vanda.

The only thing to improve was that even though there were 3 Bachata workshops taught at the festival by Juan Ruiz and Inaki Fernandez, DJs didn’t play enough Bachata music during the parties for the attendees to practice the new moves. On the other hand, it was good to see that DJs played few Zouks throughout the night and participants were eager to get in the dance floor and practice their zouk, even if it was to practice just the basics.

The evening shows were very entertaining and enjoyable. Caderas Latinas team had the largest team performing at the festival, it was so big that they had to split the team into two and have them perform on both nights. We have to give credit to Mambo Clasico and their Mime’s routine (not sure if that is the proper name for the routine), the Two Left Feet team as well as Grace Woo’s beginners team that didn’t look like a beginners team at all.

Starlinn Choo from Singapore was such a pocket rocket! She performed a solo and couple routine. The difference with the couple routine was that she was acting as a leader instead of a follower. The Zouk performances by Lidia and Michael and Alison and Premala kept the audiences in a state of awe as not many Zouk performances have been showcased in this event. Closing the event, we had the contemporary salsa performances by Nuno and Vanda, which left the audience wondering how they make it look so easy and effortless their complicated routines.

There were rumours at the beginning of the year that this even was not going to take place so we are really glad that Lin made this event happen. Even though Lin hasn’t mentioned the dates for next year’s festival, we are looking forward to it. Let’s keep the MSF tradition happening!

After months of planning and endless hours of promotion not only in America but also internationally, the long awaited San Francisco Bachata Festival was here. The event brought together bachateros from all over the United Stated (Florida, Illinois, Washington, Portland, California and even Hawaii) as well as international representatives from Australia, Vietnam, Belgium, the UK, Lithuania, to name a few.

The event was organized by two popular Bachata figures in the industry: Rodney Aquino from Rodchata and Jorge Elizondo from Bachata Fusion. These guys know their stuff when it comes to organising major events as they are also responsible for organising the Reno Bachata Convention. This time, Camile Yannantuono was appointed the event manager to ensure that the event ran smoothly.

Not only  did this event celebrate Bachata and its music, it also consisted of workshops in salsa (on1 and on2), Zouk and Kizomba. Zouk and Kizomba are two popular styles already danced worldwide but  they have not found their way in to the US market yet, therefore Rodney and Jorge saw this event as a great opportunity to introduce these styles to create a bigger following in the US.

Australia was well represented by Juan Ruiz and Josie Cote from Bachateros teaching the Bachata Moderna style including the “crosses” fundamentals . Nestor Manuelian and Katrina Quintal from Modus Vivendi where there teaching their sexy moves including the famous kangaroo dip! Also from Australia we had Duncan Stark and Donna Wild teaching sensual zouk workshops.

There were 3 rooms for workshops, and two rooms for the parties. Yes, the organizers ensured that there was a salsa room available so all the salsa addicts can get their salsa fix from dancing too much Bachata. The main room played a good combination of Bachata Moderna and Bachata Dominican music. It was great to see people mixing both Bachata styles in one song by doing interesting turn patterns, sexy moves and Dominican footwork, making the dancing a lot more exciting.

It was great to see the amount of Bachata talent in America. We have to take our hats off to the Chicago All-Stars Bachata team, lead by Zeke, for showcasing not only one, but two team choreographies full of energy, strong dancing and high entertainment factor. Vince, the Bachata Prince, with his Bachata Urbana team and the Phunk Nasty team also entertained the audience with their performances. This event also saw the debut of the Bachata Caliente team led by Jorge and Leslie.

On Saturday night, SalsaGang, a popular latin promotions team awarded the international instructors for their contributions to the Bachata scene, this included Tony Lara and Daniela (two of the pioneers of Bachata from I love Bachata), Vesa Parkkari (Finland Bachata Festival), Geidre and Saruna (Lithuania Bachata Festival), Gregory and Nanda (Belgium Bachata Festival), Anup Thomas (Salsa Vacation Thailand) and the final receivers of the award were Juan Ruiz and Nestor Manuelian from Australia for organizing the first ever Bachata Festival in the world, the Sydney International Bachata Festival. All these names are now part of the SalsaGang Museum.

Sunday night was the farewell party and the Master Jack-and-Jill competition (since it is a Latin event, I suggest to call it the Jose-y-Maria competition J ). All the attendees on Sunday night were ready to give it all and were pumped for one more night before saying good bye, and that was clearly displayed in the Master Jack-and-Jill. WOW! I have never seen some instructors move they way they moved that night! I can’t wait to see the footage.

The San Francisco Bachata Festival was the second event of its kind in America. Having attended the first event Reno Bachata Convention, I can clearly see that the concept of Bachata Festival (including other dance styles) is becoming a familiar concept in America after Salsa Congresses. Only in the US we have the Reno Bachata Convention, San Francisco Bachata Festival, California Bachata Festival, Washington DC Bachata & Dance Festival and Los Angeles Bachata Festival. Probably at the time of this writing there will be another festival being organized.

It was a pleasure to be part of such a prestigious event, as an event promoter (Sydney International Bachata Festival) and Bachata instructor, seeing other successful Bachata events motivates me to continue on my own journey to push Bachata more and more in the dancing community. Rodney and Jorge, thank you for the invitation to participate in this event. I definitively give you both two thumbs-ups for this event and your hospitality. Already counting the days for next year’s event, look out San Francisco Bachata Festival, 2010 – the Aussies will be back!

With this event debuting in 2008, the Bachata community have spent 364 days eagerly awaiting to see what the Bachata Festival Team had install for them this year, and i think it is safe to say that this year’s event exceeded all expectations and left wanting more once the event was over because of its success.

This year the festival was held at Manning Bar at the Sydney University. The size of the venue was an improvement on last year’s festival. There was a great mixture of workshops over the whole weekend. Jorge and Lesley from the United States had tongues wagging with their amazing “Bachata Caliente, LA Style” workshop which involved a move which literally swept the ladies of their feet, Carlos and Eli’s “Bachata Showtime” workshop also had Bachateros on a high and Carlos Cinta from the USA definitely had the smooth moves when it came to his “Smooth Bachata Moves” workshop. Even though the event is called the “Bachata Festival” there were lots of workshops in Zouk, Kizomba, Latin Hip-Hop and Cha Cha to keep the attendees on their toes. All workshops were jammed packed so it’s possible that the organisers may need to look for a bigger venue next year.

After hours of workshops during the day, you would think that people would be too tired to party – that was definitely not the case at this festival. I’m not sure if it was the awesome sounds that DJ’s such as DJ Mambonito, DJ Amit and DJ Dante (and many more of the 12 DJs in total) were pumping out every night or if it was the Bachata fever that everyone had caught, but these Bachateros did not want the parties to end. The ugly lights would come on and they would be begging the DJ to play just one more song! There were a lot of people who thought there would just be bachata music playing at this festival, which was obviously not the case. There was a great selection of Salsa, Zouk, Cha Cha and of course Bachata being pumped through the speakers.

The performances were entertaining and you can tell that all the schools went through a lot of effort to put together some great shows for us this year. The stand-out shows were of course on sunday night where you had Moro & Gaby dazzle us with their energetic Dominican Style, Juan and Samantha mesmerise us with their Moderna Style (or was that the effect of the gold hot pants?), Becky & Fernando performing their reggaeton and Carlos and Eli, as always, blew us away with those showmoves.

Then there was the finale – the concert that we have heard so much about, however didn’t really know what to expect – 4 boys from the United States of America with angel like voices and backstreet boy moves make up the band known as 4-Ever! Inoel, Eidan, Luis and Delvis sang all their songs from their album “The Movement” and you could tell that the audience didn’t know whether to dance to the music or to stand and watch the boys in action. This is the first concert of its kind that the Latin dancing community here in Australia have witnessed and I think it’s fair to say that every single person thoroughly enjoyed it. Before the concert people were saying that they thought the tickets were too expensive but then at the end of the night they left saying that it was worth every cent. The boys won lots of hearts here in Australia and due to their amazing talents and very friendly personalities, they are more than welcome to come back down under! (read an exclusive inteview with 4Ever)

The organisers of the event include Juan Ruiz, Nestor Manuelian, Lidia McMahon and Sky Blue. I’m sure there is alot blood, sweat and tears when organising an event such as this one however, I take my hat off to these guys. Not only was the event a success but they stepped outside the square, took a risk and did something different which I think the dance scene needs alot more of. Congrats guys!

Overall, the 2009 Sydney International Bachata Festival was a fun and entertaining event. Next year the organisers may need to consider a bigger venue and also a better system to hand out the performer passes. But for now, we have to wait another 365 days to see how the organisers are going to exceed our expectations once again!

See you at the Sydney International Bachata Festival, 2010!

Written by Samantha Cilia. Samantha is the Artistic Principal of Bachateros. You can find her all over Australia teaching and dancing Bachata.

The DouDoule Latin Dance Camp, was the perfect combination of holidaying, dancing and partying. The beautiful city of the Gold Coast, Queensland was the host of the DouDuoule Camp. The event was held during the 8th-10th of May. This was the 2nd year of the event, and we were told by the organizer that the event doubled up in size from last year’s event. We wonder how big is going to be this event in 2010 then?

Jean-Luc Lambs, a famous promoter in Brisbane, is the man responsible of such a successful event. Being a very charismatic person. Jean-Luc was an extremely entertaining and welcoming host. We are pretty sure that Jean-Luc didn’t sleep a wink during the whole weekend as his main focus was to ensure that all campers had a great weekend and that the event ran to schedule.

The price of the event included the accommodation, workshops, entry to the parties, as well as the meals, drinks and snacks. But with it being a camp environment, you should not expect top quality food. But hey! It was a bargain for the services received and the price you pay.

The event had a strong support from Salseros, Bachateros and Zoukeros. Dancers from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, even from Perth, and of course, the Queensland dancers were present at the camp. The event had international representatives from New Zealand as well.

The dance workshops had the right combination of Salsa, Salsa on2, Zouk, Bachata and other rhythms as well. The Cha-Cha workshop taught by Giancarlo and Masha from Latinissimo had a hall full of dancers, but the workshop everybody enjoyed and talked the most was the Bachata workshop taught by Nestor Manuelian from Modus Vivendi, that pretty much had the whole camp attending. Dancing Bachata at the beach, of course! Such a great idea! Next year the event should have more Bachata workshops.

The shows were phenomenal! The top dancers from Australia were present, Oliver and Luda, Kadu and Larisa, Modus Vivendi and LDA to name a few. The parties were also great, as the DJs played a good selection of Salsa, Bachata and Zouk. And if you were getting too tired of dancing, you can easily stroll out to the beach, which is what everybody did on the last night of the camp. After the Saturday night “Gangster and Hommie” party, everybody went to the beach and partied ‘till early hours of the morning. The only problem was that after a long night of party, we were woken up by a drumming workshop at 10am!

If you plan on going for a holiday and still want to maintain your salsa addiction, then you should go to the DouDoule Latin Dance Camp. Spending time with friends, meeting new salseros, dancing ‘till late hours of the night, learning from top instructors, eating together with the 300+ attendees and going for a swim at the beach are enough reasons for you to go to this camp.

We congratulate Jean-Luc and his team for a successful and well ran event. We are looking forward for next year’s event.

Bachateros highly recommend this event!

“This one time, at the dance Camp…” (sshhh – what happens at dance camp stays at dance camp)

3rd – 5th of April, 2008

The beautiful city of Melbourne was host to the inaugural Melbourne Latin Festival (MLF). Although only in its first year, this event was organised with such professionalism and attention to detail, and well exceeded the crowd’s expectations.

Natalie Montano, director of Synergy Salsa, was the brains behind this project. Natalie and her friendly and helpful team ensured that the event was of international standard.

The Darebin Arts and Convention Centre was the perfect venue for this occasion, as it offered 3 spacious workshop rooms, a common area for booth holders to promote their brands and participants to wind down, as well as a beautiful theatre that hosted the Saturday night performances. Coffee and snacks were also available and everyone could enjoy a cup of rich Italian hot chocolate, which well represented the “chocolate” theme of the event. This year’s venue was perfect in size for the number of attendees (approximately 500 participants at day, and a few more at night). We can’t help but to wonder, since the success and popularity of the event, if this venue would be big enough for next year’s edition.

The MLF offered a wide range of workshops, from beginners to advanced. Its main focus was on the 3 most popular Latin dance styles: Salsa, Bachata and Zouk. As the Bachata lovers that we are, we were very happy to see both Bachata workshops, taught by Bachateros and Modus Vivendi, jam packed with over 150 students eager to learn. Junior and Emily, Oliver and Luda, and Amy Mills were other very popular instructors with full workshops as well.

Most participants couldn’t tell that Junior and Emily flew in from California, USA, only for the weekend, on a gruelling 20 + hour flight, including an unexpected stop-over in Canberra, caused by a temporary storm in Melbourne. Despite their long flight, Junior and Emily displayed such a great attitude and good humour during their workshops, and a great energy for their performances.

Saturday night was the event’s main night. The performances were held at the venue’s theatre, which was a full capacity (not bad for an event in its first year!). The entire evening was presented as a very professional production, which included an opening act by Fabio Robles who educated and humoured the crowed with his “Gaucho” routine, as well as a closing act by Latitude Dance Co.

The organizers made sure that the crowd got more than they expected, as the evening was full of surprises. Luke and Luda, winners of the 2009 Dancing with the Stars showcased their winning Salsa routine. Name Lastname TAP dance group wowed the audience with their energetic display of dance skills and the young age of its members. Fabio and Ana Robles interpreted a beautiful tango piece played by a live guitarist on stage which left the audience speechless.

The Latin and Brazilian rhythms were very well represented by the local talent. The Melbourne teams not only displayed their Salsa and Zouk skills, but also incorporated drama and theatrical themes to their choreographies. The Motion Couture dance team, led by Oliver Pineda, exhibited such precision and technique that made their routine look so easy even though the song used for the choreography is one of the fastest Salsa songs ever used for a performance.

The parties at night offered a live band, and a good selection of national DJs that kept the dancers going ‘till late hours in the night. There was a good mix of Salsa, Bachata and Zouk played by the DJs, and the bands’ live performances ensured that the dancers got their Salsa fix.

The Melbourne Latin Festival is proof that the Latin community in Australia is growing strong, demonstrating that Sydney is not the only place to be for great salsa dancing in this country.

As a sponsor of the event, the Bachateros team is looking forward to keep supporting this event and to be present next year. We surely expect it to be even bigger and better!

Well done Natalie and the Synergy Salsa team! Two thumbs up!

The first week of January in the USA is the middle of winter, so it was hard to believe that an International Bachata festival could take place at such time. But to everybody’s surprise, the 1st Reno Bachata Convention brought together more than 400 Bachateros under one roof. Although it was the festival’s first edition and the idea was formed only in November - trough a simple email between Australia and the USA – the Bachata convention proved to be a very successful event!

The event was a joint effort between Rodchata, BachataFusion and Salsa Reno, three big names in the Latin/Bachata scene in the USA. Rodney Aquino, from Rodchata, has established himself as one of the best hosts in the Latin scene. His hospitality makes you feel welcome from the moment you arrive. It was then easy to forgive him for getting us lost 3 times on our way to the event - you know what I’m talking about, Rodney! (At the time this review was completed, we got lost 5 times!). BB (or Billy Bob), from Salsa Reno, was the man behind the negociation of such great deals at the hotel.

The convention was hosted at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, a 5 star hotel similar to the hotels you see in famous Las Vegas. There was no need to venture out of the hotel because it had everything you needed and more.

The event started with a pre party at the hotel’s nightclub on Thursday night. What a way to start the convention! As the delegates from all over the USA started to arrive, the excitement of the local dancers was palpable.

The event saw some of the best Bachata and Latin instructors from the world and the USA, with names such as Jorge Elizondo, Rodney Aquino, Juan Ruiz, Ava Apple and Camile Yannantuono, as well as new up and coming Bachata instructors like Alenjandro Rey, Lee “El Gringuito” Smith and Jorge & Leslie, only to name a few. The event held more than 30 workshops, ranging from Bachata, Tango, Salsa and Merengue. People were eager to learn the different styles of Bachata that were offered, such as Bachata Moderna, Traditional Style Bachata, Bachata Tango, Urban Bachata, and of course, Dominican Style Bachata. It was great to see the American dancers learning the traditional and contemporary styles of Bachata, as well as taking great interest in the other dance styles.

Each workshop had a consistent attendance of approximately 60 enthusiastic participants. It was great to witness such involvment, considering that the days were pretty full, as the workshops were scheduled from 10am to 6pm.

At night, various Bachata groups from around the country performed, along with two impromptu demonstrations by Jorge Elizondo & Summer, and Juan Ruiz & Camille. We have to give props to Ava Apple’s dance team for performing a nice Bachata-Cabaret routine (these guys can fly!). Pasos De Oro Dance Studio, led by Alejandro Rey, brought together 30 performers on stage, and Lee “El Gringuito” Smith added a touch of magic and entertainment to his performance.

The event also had a Jack and Jill competition for amateurs, with big prizes such as full passes to the San Francisco Bachata Festival, Sydney Bachata Festival and DC Bachata festival. Also, the event hosted their first Jack and Jill masters’ competition. All the instructors had to step out their comfort zone to please the crowd. We were impressed at how some professionals can shake their body! (We are looking forward to seeing those videos on YouTube!)

What was good:

• The hospitality and generosity of the organizers was one of a kind. We couldn’t ask for more from them.
• The organizers were able to get a massive discount on the hotel’s rate. It will be hard to top that kind of deal in other cities!
• The vibe of the event in general was one of the best! Everybody got along with everybody. You could see a sense of community there.

What could be improved:

• The workshops schedules were done at last minute. On Friday we didn’t have a lunch break. Attendees had to prioritize: Bachata or Food. Tough choice!
• It was felt that the DJs lacked more urban Latin Bachata and Bachata Moderna music. Events like this should introduce new songs and new artists.

The Bachata Reno Convention was the first of its kind in the USA and it won’t be the last. After the success of this event, we look forward for the San Francisco Bachata Festival in July, 09 and other Bachata events now spreading all over the USA. Well done Rodchata, Bachata Fusion and Salsa Reno for promoting Bachata. It was a great weekend!

If you could ever envisage a holiday combined with hot weather, great friends and of course a lot of Latin dancing then you definitely need to check out this review! Just imagine the somewhat typically stunning and pictorial township of Byron Bay. A community surrounded with sandy beaches, an unproblematic atmosphere and attitude that is adopted not only by locals but also travellers that bring with them the flowing culture of Latin workshops and never to be missed Latin parties. It’s almost hard to believe that this is only the third year of such an amazing and successful festival!

We were impressed by how the event was organized: maps with venue directions and addresses, instructional print-outs and constant calls from the organizer to make sure the artists and performers knew exactly what was happening and what to expect. Sky Blue, the director of Picante Latin Dance and also the organizer of the event did a fantastic job preparing and arranging this fun filled weekend.

The Friday welcoming party saw the Brisbane and Queensland crew mingling together with the Sydney and NSW crew. We were also delighted to see few faces from Melbourne as well. DJ Willie Sabor (from Sydney) kick started the party with his as usual, great selection of music. We were fortunate enough to watch a fantastic line up of performances ranging from LA Salsa, Cuban Salsa and even Zouk & Kizomba. What a great night!

We didn’t know until we arrived at Friday night’s party that the organizer had had problems with the venues a few weeks before the festival, and therefore had the extremely stressful job of finding new venues in a short space of time. Our hat goes off to her for the dedication, time and effort in making sure we had the best venues with the least amount of hassle. If she hadn’t told us, we wouldn’t have known as all attendees were satisfied and pleased to be dancing the night away in Bryon Bay.

On Saturday and Sunday we had the dance workshops during the day. There was an excellent diversity and assortment of dance styles and instructors to choose from. The Cuban Rueda workshop got the biggest number of attendees; the guys from Cuban Dance Academy with their high energy and unfailing liveliness did a great job teaching and entertaining their participants. We also have to say that the Bachateros left their mark there!

Saturday night was the most important party. We had performances by a mixture of couples and teams from around Australia, but the highlight was that of Erik Turron, an amazing Cuban Son dancer from Cuba who was in Byron Bay (watch a video of him). Eric and his wife presented us with an impromptu performance. He got the crowd so excited and cheering non-stop, this guy astounded the audience more than a prepared choreography. That’s the beauty of events like this; you don’t know what surprises you might get, and which dancers will stand out and amaze you with their talents.

We weren’t able to be present at the Sunday night party because we had to leave earlier and get back to Sydney, but having attended the previous two parties, we can say with confidence from all the great feedback that the Sunday party was a success as well.

What was good:

• Everything was in walking distance. The allocated accommodation and the venues were 5 minutes walk from each other.
• The volunteers did an excellent job! They were helpful, attentive and ready to take care of all the attendees.
• The overall organization of the event was well done, everything ran on time without a hitch.
• There was a great variety of dance workshops like Puerto Rican Salsa, Rumba, Bachata, Zouk, Kizomba and so much more.

What could be improved:

• The venue for the workshop became a bit small for the number of the attendees. The Cuban Rueda workshop had attendees from corner to corner.
• The food served to the artists and performers at the Saturday night dinner was not the best quality. This was not the direct responsibility of the organizer; it was more the quality of the food from the restaurant.

After spending the weekend in Byron Bay dancing Salsa, Bachata, Zouk and Kizomba, well…we can’t wait to do it again! The Bachateros had a great time at this event, and we highly recommend this event to everybody.

We hope to see you there next year!

Webiste: www.byronlatinfiesta.com

The welcoming party was of course held at Port Orient, a venue that is used for many Salsa events and is also a regular Friday night venue for Salseros. The vibe on Friday night was great! As you can imagine, the welcoming party was a time to chill, meet and greet dancers and competitors from all over Australia. The night had some fantastic shows by other dance professionals not competing during the weekend.

The rest of the event was held at Paddington Town Hall, a stunning venue by itself and was even made more spectacular with colourful decorations and the finer details that make an event attractive.

Saturday and Sunday ran smoothly all thanks to the many volunteers that lent a hand throughout the Australian Salsa Classic. Many of them were familiar and recognisable faces in the Sydney Salsa Scene.  During the day, you could find the hall transformed into two separate spaces for the many dance workshops by some of the top dancers in Australia. At night, and with another exceptional transformation of chairs, stages, and booths, we were privileged to observe the much anticipated competitions plus the social dancing. Saturday night was a full house and although Sunday night was not as full as the previous night, it was very much enjoyed.

The number of competitors this year increased from last year’s competition. The amateur division had a whooping number of 13 couples! Cabaret division had 1 couple (Go Carlos and Eli for risking your life in mid-air!). The on1 division had 6 couples competing. The on2 division, the strongest and toughest division, had 9 couples. And the Team division had 6 competing teams.

What was good:

• There was such a good vibe during the event. Even though it was a weekend of competitions, all competitors were friendly and helpful.
• As mentioned before, the organizers did a great job decorating the venue and the stage.
• Organizers were very approachable
• Volunteers were always ready to help the attendees. If you had any question, you were sure to have it answered by one of the many volunteers.
• The hosts explained the competition rules and grading criteria between each performance.
• The event is growing in prestige. In comparison to last year’s event, the ASC 08 stood apart as one of the biggest events in Australia.

What could be improved:

• The workshop rooms were too close to each other. Music could be heard from room to room making it difficult for instructors to teach and for students to hear.
• Parking was a hassle on Saturday night, but that was due to the Rugby game happening near the venue
• The CD player skipped for a good number of performances. If it wasn’t because of the good vibe, accidents like this should not be allowed at an event of this calibre.

We have to give credit to Salsa Sensation juniors and seniors for competing in the amateur division and then on the teams division. At such a young age, the hard work that was shown should be commended. Also, The Modus Vivendi Salsa Productions team proved to be, once again, the best salsa team in Australia, setting the bench mark for team performances.

The event produced the new salsa champions and the Australian representatives for the World Salsa Champions (WSC) to be held in Orlando, USA on December 2008. We are very confident that our Australian dancers will do a great job at the Worlds! Go Aussies!

AUSTRALIAN SALSA CLASSIC 2008 RESULTS

ON2 Division

1st Csaba & Vali – NSW CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS
2nd Fernando & Josie – NSW
3rd Roberto & Jenna – QLD

ON1 Division

1st Juan & Kaitlin QLD
2nd Ulysses & Jasmin NSW
3rd Nathan & Christie VIC

TEAMS Division

1st Modus Vivendi Salsa Productions NSW
2nd Latin Steps Dance Company QLD
3rd Latin Motion Modus Vivendi Salsa Project NSW

YOUTH Division

1st Dominic & Valentina NSW
2nd Glen & Tamara NSW
3rd Aaron & Olivia NSW

CABARET Division

1st Carlos & Elli QLD

AMATEUR Division

1st Shawn & Jasmin NSW
2nd Ronnie & Nieves NSW
3rd Andrew & Sidonie NSW

Being at an exotic location like the Pulai Desaru Beach Resort, Johor in Malaysia surrounded by the ocean, sand, sun, palm trees, pool and the somewhat soothing sound of tropical music drifting through the air, all the while with a cocktail in your hand, for some reason can put you in a really good mood. You can certainly imagine the vibe the dancers had during the 3 days of tanning, relaxation and of course dancing. You could find welcoming people everywhere ready and willing to make new friends. With the Australian’s dominating the attendance list (go the aussies! 160+) there were also attendee’s from New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong-Kong, England, France, Emirates Arabs, Thailand, and many other places.

We were told that it was an all inclusive event. This was hard to believe at first, but true to their word, we didn’t have to open our wallets for any food or drinks. The only worry being alcoholic beverages, which, on the last night, by an act of magic found ourselves downing free shots! Give it up for the organiser, Lin!

What was good:

• As mentioned before, it was an all-inclusive event. There were buffet breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and even an afternoon tea. Seriously, how many people put on weight?!
• Everything ran like clock work. It was good to see that the MC told everyone on the first night that the event will run on time; this announcement definitely encouraged all the attendees to actually be on time!
• There was no host during the shows. An MC who announced the performers was not located near the stage area, so audience attention was directed at the performers the entire night. This also allowed the shows to run faster and on time.
• The organisers, at the end of the event, presented a trophy as a sign of appreciation to all instructors and performers. What a nice touch! Not to mention the personal written postcard welcoming all instructors to the event.
• All organisers and event staff were very approachable and friendly. The volunteers were always there looking for ways to help you find your way or with anything in general.

What could be improved:

• There were no toilets near the marquee which was the place where the performances were and where the big parties happened. If you needed to go, you had to take your shoes off because you didn’t want to get them wet on the grass. Not a big deal for the social dancers, but for the performers it was a bit more of a hassle.
• Some people missed lunch because they attended the workshops during lunch time. Priorities, right? What was more important, dancing or eating? Tough decision.
• There was a great selection of dishes at every meal but it was felt that the overall quality of the food wasn’t the greatest, leaving a few people feeling not quite 100%, but this was not the organizer’s fault.

On the whole, we give this event a big “thumbs-up”. For sure, everybody who attended the event had a wonderful time and they are definitely looking forward to coming back next year. Linline (the organiser) approached the event with a unique dedicated professionalism that has set the bar for other promoters.

We asked Lin, how did you get started organising the MSF?

Her answer being, “I wanted to travel and spend time with friends while dancing”.

That’s the secret for a successful event: treat all your guests as friends and family and have a great time with them.

Looking forward for next years ‘Malaysia Salsa Festival 2009’.