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Monday July 23, 2007

Swaying to the rhythm of salsa

By TAN KARR WEI

ABOUT 500 people heated up the dance floor of the Hilton Kuala Lumpur grand ballroom as they showed off their salsa moves at the inaugural Salsa 101 party.

The event started at 6pm with three salsa workshops: "Introduction to Guanguanco and Body Isolation Techniques" by Güpson Pierre of Attitude Dance Studio, Singapore, "Casino Rueda on Salsa Timba" by Pat Calzadilla of Ritmo Latino Studio, Kuala Lumpur, and "Newest Sexy Moves and Dips on Rumba Wena" by Malaysian Salsa Sam of Havana Estudio Kuala Lumpur.

Temperature rising: Beautiful ladies setting the floor ablaze with their sexy moves.
Participants listened attentively as they tried to follow the moves of the instructors.

Later they were treated to an exclusive movie, "From Son To Salsa", which is about the birth of salsa and its worldwide expansion.

"We want to bring salsa to mainstream Malaysia. It's the first time we are having this and we hope to make it an annual event," said project director Baron Idriss.

Watch and learn: Pat Calzadilla’s workshop (right) was a hit with many.
The got livelier after 9pm as more people arrived and Paula Malai Ali stepped in to host the party.

More experienced dancers took to the dance floor to groove to the different styles of music played by DJ Domingo from Peru, DJ Juanito from Colombia and Dr. Salsa from France.

After each number, couples were seen changing partners as they continued to dance the night away.

At about 10pm, the crowd cleared the dance floor for a competition with three couples going against each other.

Despite meeting just five minutes before the competition, one of the couples managed to put up an impressive performance. Kim Lynn Heinimamm, 16, paired up with Adam Johari, 16, because Adam's partner could not make it to the event at the last minute.

"It's not hard to dance with a new partner. As long as you know the basic steps and can keep up with the timing, you'll be fine," said Adam.

"This is a great party because it's all about salsa. It's difficult to find events such as this in Malaysia where the focus is more on hip-hop and R&B," said Heinimamm.

"It's amazing to have such a large get-together of Malaysian salsa dancers," added Adam.

During the party, Cuban ambassador to Malaysia Pedro Monzon Barata was seen tapping his feet and swaying his body to the music as he watched the event from his seat.

Let your hair down: Participants dancing the night away.
"Since I came here four years ago, I have been seeing a growing interest in salsa and it's good to have events such as this that promotes salsa," said Barata.

"In Cuba, salsa is very much part of our community. It is important for socialising. You don't need to go to a school to learn salsa. It's something you can feel. You can dance as long as you can move to the music and maintain the rhythm. It's a great exercise for the body too and it helps to release stress," he added.

Barata added that he also wants to introduce Cuban music to Malaysia as Cuba has some good bands.

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