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Salsa Kingdom, September 2008 |
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Written by Torqueo
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Tuesday, 04 November 2008 |
 Some of the Salsa Central team attended the Salsa Kingdom weekender at the beginning of September. We did have slight involvement in the lead-up to the event and provided DJ's for the bar area on the actual weekend, but I've aimed to make this review as impartial as possible. If you would like to express your opinion on the event or this review, please use the comments function at the bottom of the page.
Salsa Kingdom - 5th to 7th September, 2008
The Venue
The Park Hall Hotel and Conference area is not your typical congress-style venue, but this was never billed as a Congress. The focal point of the venue is a courtyard area, which is surrounded on one side by the main hotel building, then an American diner, and  the various buildings that comprise the complex. The only food and drink available on site was quite expensive, and quite limited in choice, and due to the isolation of the venue, eating anywhere else meant driving off-site to a nearby pub. There were three workshop areas, two of which were the main party rooms with a dance studio making up the numbers, a 'vendors marketplace', and the 'Salsa Central Bar'.
The Workshops
The line up of instructors was a mix of U.S. and UK teachers, with the highlights being Sekou McMiller, Tito & Tamara, Susana Montero, and Richard Marcel. There were a number of other 'hig h-profile' US teachers, but none that you would associate with the Salsa scene as we know it, but that's not taking away from the quality that was evident during their workshops. The general quality and attendance of the workshops was good, with some very positive feedback. The only complaint I heard was that of scheduling.
The Shows
I missed the Saturday night shows, but the feedback seemed quite positive. I did, however, attend on the Sunday night, and was immediately subjected to a 50 minute delay before they started. The first part lasted about 15 minutes before another break, then the second period, which lasted about 45 minutes. The content of the shows on a whole was good. Different to the usual performance format that we're used to, each night seemed to be (very loosely) themed, and a sequence of a number of individual shows, the majority of which were high-quality and entertaining.
The Parties
The calibre of bands and DJ's that comprised the line-up screamed quality, although very biased to the New York sound. I attended the parties on Friday and Saturday night, but left after the shows on Sunday.
Both bands were awesome, with New Swing Sextet providing the perfect start to the event, and Eddie Palmieri (joined by Jimmy Bosch, Herman Olivera, Nelson Gonzalez, and more) blowing the roof off the place as the highlight on the Saturday night. The bands were without doubt the major success of this weekend!!
Due to the numbers in attendance, only the nightclub was really used for the party (the Lancastrian Suite, where the shows were held was the 2nd room but closed early). While being great for live music, the dancefloor was maybe a little small for the party that followed.
The Accomodation
In addition to the main hotel block (which was apparently quite nice), there were also a number of resort-style chalets on site. We stayed in one of these, and didn't have any complaints. Additional accomodation was available at various hotels in the area, although none could really be described as walking distance from the event.
Summary
The organisers were not trying to create a Congress along the lines of what we've seen before, but rather a fun festival for all levels of dancer and latin music fan. The event as a whole, while maybe not being a massive commercial success, was a good starting point, and something that can be built upon for future years. The emphasis on Live music could prove to be their niche in the UK market, and if they manage to iron out the problems then next year could be the 'fun festival' they had planned.
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