Salsa Central - Latin Storm at The Colosseum, April 2009

I have recently been to a few good one-day salsa events, but this all-nighter was something special, with international attractions like Adolfo Indacocchea and Nelson Flores.

The venue at Vauxhall has good public transport links with easy access to the underground station and bus terminal. However coming by car, I had to arrive early as parking spaces were limited.

The event began at 7.30pm with workshops of both intermediate and advanced level in the multi-story facilities of the Colliseum. I took two of the advanced On-2 turn pattern workshops conducted by Adolfo and Nelson, which my dance partner found especially challenging. There were also other classes taking place at the same time including On1, Cuban and Kizomba.

The venue comprises of a massive main hall with a small stage, the area has wooden flooring ideal for dancing, but would have been made perfect with a little sanding and polish. Next door to this is another room where all the Cuban dancers congregated, the atmosphere here was fabulous and the concrete floors did not spoil the dances.

Between dances, there was a chill-out area where I could relax and chat with friends, have a drink and a bite to eat. One could also watch life passing by at the river Thames through the glass panes, listening to the music or go downstairs to watch the sensuous Kizomba dance, a mix of bachata and tango.

The main shows of the evening were all very impressive, including performances by the Kizomba champions, the cast of ‘Havana Rumba’, Adolfo Indacochea and Carla Voconi. These performers, in my humble opinion are probably the best in their fields. We were very lucky to have been able to witness their performances.

The main dance floor was still packed at four in the morning, many of the dancers were seemingly inexhaustible, finding energy for their spins and moves. The DJs had also out-shone themselves playing some really good dance music, right till the very end. Although I was tired, I was still able to watch others dancing away, a scene usually only seen at salsa congresses. Feeling contented, I left at around 5 am driving home in the light of dawn.

This was the second time that promoter SOS has worked with Salsa Republic with the support of Kizomba UK . The event was a great success, attended by well over eleven hundred people. It felt like a mini congress with so many internationally renowned instructors in attendance. It was an extremely enjoyable evening and I hope there will be many more similar events to come in the future.

Reviewed by Karen Chau

Karen Chau’s Bio

Karen was brought up as a classical musician, grew up in Hong Kong but later attended College and worked in London.

She started salsa 2002, was soon hooked in salsa, and the music. She joined the Magazine Salsavine/Dancevine 2003 to 2004, and worked as reporter/photographer. Known as the “salsagirl”, she danced six days a week; but because of a slight knee problem, she left salsa and took and interest in “Egyptian Dance” Raqs Sharqi, which was mainly for women.

She resumed her salsa dancing 2008 and have not looked back since. She danced all styles but especially keen of Mambo On 2.

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