The Britfest 2008 has been cancelled - please click here for details
There has been a lot of talk about the Brit Fest, (will it be going ahead?) and the statement made by the Moore sisters.
Various salsa forums have the usual ‘everyone putting their tuppence worth in’ threads, however, we at Salsa Central like to remain impartial and believe that there are two sides to every story.
It just so happens that we have discovered ‘Salsa-UK’s version of events on another salsa forum and so we have decided to post both statements on our site so people could read both sides of the story and come to their own conclusion.
Please note that Salsa Central has no opinion on this story and continues to remain impartial.
Brit Salsa Fest 2008 - A Public Statement by Kate and Emma Moore of Salsology
"Brit Salsafest at the Winter Gardens is a partnership between Kate and Emma Moore (of Salsology) and Salsa UK Limited (represented by Paul Young). The partnership operates on a 50/50 basis, and hosted two very successful events in February 2006 and February 2007.
On creation, the partnership agreed to work together to host three Brit Salsafest events. Whilst we (Kate and Emma Moore of Salsology) have sought to honour this agreement for 2008, we have been advised that Salsa UK is now seeking to manage and run this event without our further involvement.
Customers should be aware that Salsa UK is seeking to use assets belonging to the partnership to host this event. These assets include the BritFest name and dates (each of which is identified with the event) and the contract for use of the Winter Gardens.
Our legal advice on this matter has been robust, and is that it is unlawful for Salsa UK to use the assets of the partnership in this manner, or to seek to host the event without our involvement.
Whilst negotiations have taken place between us and Salsa UK, an amicable resolution has not yet been achieved. In order to protect the assets of Brit Salsafest, we have regrettably been left with no option but to instruct solicitors to issue legal proceedings.
Those proceedings are for an injunction to protect the assets of Brit Salsafest, and to prevent their use by Salsa UK acting alone. It is anticipated that these injunctive proceedings will be concluded shortly – and we will of course write to advise you of their outcome.
In the meantime, Customers may wish to consider delaying the purchase of tickets for the 2008 event until this matter has been resolved by the Courts.
We wish to thank our loyal customers for their continued support and to let them know that we are doing our utmost to safeguard the existence of the Brit Salsafest event and the representation of a Northern promoter (through Salsology), in its management and ownership.
Please feel welcome to distribute this email to other interested parties.
As we do not wish to prejudice the outcome of any legal proceedings, we regret that we cannot provide any further information. However, please do feel welcome to contact us with any urgent concerns by email at
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or
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"
12th October 2008
Emma Moore Brit Salsafest ...the mother of all salsa congresses
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http://www. britsalsafest.com +44 (0)7973 266227
Extract From Salsa Forums
"I was concerned that we've only heard one half of the story so today I've contacted Paul Young to get his angle.
I've never met Paul so I've no axe to grind. I have met Emma and Kate but don't know either other than just to nod to so I've no axe to grind there either. I just wanted an unbiased view.
In short, what Paul said is as follows (he seemed happy that I report back on what he'd said, though he has not had a "pre-read" before I've published);
Paul was hoping that he and Emma & Kate could work things out amicably, without dragging either through the public domain or the courts.
Britfest was Paul's initiative in the first instance, and he approached Kate and Emma to work with him 50/50.
He agrees that Kate and Emma have made a massive contribution to the two previous Britfest events. As much as himself.
There are irreconcilable difference between him and Emma& Kate. These surfaced at the first Britfest, and grew last year. He says he "cannot" work with them again with regard to 2008 and they are aware of this.
He declined to say what these differences are and refused to be pulled into any sort of slanging match. He said absolutely nothing derogatory about either Emma or Kate other than he would not work with them again due to "irreconcilable differences."
The Winter Gardens venue is contracted in his name and it is Paul who stands to lose out financially should the event not go ahead.
As he sees it there are four possible ways forward;
1. The event is cancelled. No one wins. No event for salseros to go to, massive financial loss on his part.
2. The event goes ahead with all parties involved - Paul is not prepared to work with Emma and Kate so this is not viable.
3. One party goes ahead with the event and recompenses the other party concerned,Paul says he has made an offer to Emma and Kate which has been declined. They apparently wanted 50% of all revenue from the event for them to walk away. Paul says if Emma and Kate are prepared to make him a viable, realistic offer, then he will reluctantly walk away himself.
No such offer has yet been made.
During the course of my conversation with him, Paul repeatedly mentioned that he hopes for an amicable solution and does not want to get dragged into a public battle, either through the courts or otherwise."
