Latin dance festival adds spice to spring

Posted on 23 September, 2016

Spring is set to be spiced up this season with a fresh wave of Salsa, Zouk, Bachata and Samba performed by top international stars at the fifth Canberra Latin Dance Festival.

This year, the festival is being held at The Rex Hotel and promises to bring with it a combination of dancing, energy and a Latin vibe during the weekend of 7-9 October.

Festival Directors Andrea Paez Warner and Raquel Paez Ricciardo have had a very busy schedule finalising preparations for the event, which is set to take it up to an entirely new level this year.

Omar Munoz and Greysa Baez

“Everyone is welcome to come and watch the shows, join the workshops at the festival and practice the various Latin dancing styles at workshops,” says Raquel.

“Along with Salsa and Bachata, guests will have a chance to learn unique, authentic Brazilian Samba Passista style from the beautiful Dahlia Elkateb from Brazilian Fantasy, one of the famous British Samba entertainment companies.”

Dahlia is a world champion, and also a highly accomplished Passista teacher from intermediate level to advanced.

Raquel is a professional dancer herself and spent five years studying Samba.

“Samba is one of the most difficult dancing styles, so I strongly recommend Samba lovers to take the opportunity to learn from the array of Samba instructors teaching at the festival,” she says.

For Bachata lovers, festival organisers have invited Carlos Redondo to perform, a world champion and special guest from Spain.

Dahlia Elkateb

Along with performances by professional dancers, all guests will have a unique opportunity to see Omar Munoz and Greysa Baez, two current world champions from the United States who are travelling to Canberra exclusively for the first time.  They promise to steam up the Latin Dance Festival with the ever passionate Salsa.

To make the most of the weekend, Raquel recommends purchasing a full weekend pass which will enable you to attend all three nights of shows, dancing rooms and workshops prepared for the festival.   (The weekend pass will also ensure that you do not miss out on attending the Brazilian Carnival on Sunday night.)

“We are very excited to host the after party at The Highball Express to wrap the events of the dance weekend,” says Raquel.

“All guests are welcome to share mojitos and dance to different music styles from international DJ star Rafael Rojas.”

the essentials

What: Canberra Latin Dance Festival
Where: The Rex Hotel
When: 7-9 October 2016
Web: canberralatindancefestival.com.au