Salsa & Zouk Party - Station / Perron 3a

This Saturday(8th of June), I decided to attend the Salsa and Zouk Party in Haarlem Station  as I wanted  to enjoy a relaxing-salsa and zouk dance Saturday night. I was not disappointed at all, as there are few elements that make this party special:

The beautiful location:

Haarlem Station is a railway station in the Netherlands, located in the city of Haarlem on the Amsterdam–Rotterdam railway, the original train line linking Amsterdam to Zandvoort and Amsterdam to Leiden.It is a monumental place and a wonderful location for parties, with a wooden floor and a warm envinronment.

The music:

In my opinion the music is one of the most important factors in order to have a good time in a party, and those who attended the party on Saturday night, had a blast. The DJs (Andres “el Jefe” in the Salsa room and Zoukkero in the Zouk area) made some excellent choices, with favourite and classic songs that please each and every dancer.

The shows:

The party included two shows,one from La Essencia and a different and a spectacular and sexy Burlesque show. I believe that the Salsa and Zouk audience enjoy seeing different shows and dance styles from time to time, and that is why the choice of the Burlesque show was really successful.

The Schedule of the party:

Another reason for which the party attracts so many people, is it’s nice schedule, and it’s affordable price. With only 5€ entrance for both rooms, you can enjoy two workshops (Salsa Beginners by Tonka & Andre and Zouk beginners from Willem Engel), the shows, and the party. The party starts early (21:00) and finishes early (01.00), so that everyone feels relaxed and happy, and is full of energy to enjoy a beautiful Sunday.

No matter what your dancing style and preferences are, this is a party not to be missed!
Until next time...see you all on the dance-floor!

Review by Kelly Stavridaki / 10-06-2013 / rated: 4 stars
 

Summerbreeze op het Westergasterras - Amsterdam

Donderdagen bij Summerbreeze zijn al 18 jaar een feestje. Sinds een paar jaar heeft het zijn vaste verblijfplaats op het Westergasterrein gevonden, naast de gasbrander. Bij droog weer is er een buitendansvloer waar je tot 23.00 onder de sterrenhemel kunt genieten van latinklanken. Je kunt ook eerst even een hapje doen op het terras van de Westerliefde.

 

Vanaf 19:00 draaien er buiten en binnen DJ's Salsa in de Westerunie en buiten en in het restaurant is altijd een ander soort muziek aan de beurt. De ene week Bachata ,soms zelfs Swingbeat en Oldskool beats, dus ook voor hen die niet voor de latin gaan is er in dit seizoen wel iets te doen bij Summerbreeze. Ook Kizomba en Zouk hebben speciale donderdagavonden. Echt voor elk wat wils, en dat zie je ook aan het publiek dat er op afkomt: jong en oud, doorgewinterd en onbekend met latin, alle soorten mensen zijn er samen in een sfeer die je altijd welkom heet. Iedere week een andere gratis workshop en een andere mix muziek.

 

Traditiegetrouw sluit Summerbreeze het seizoen af met een groot live optreden. Als je precies wilt weten wat het weer doet, en hoe Summerbreeze je per week vermaakt dan kun je het best even op de site www.mysummerbreeze.nl kijken of je aanmelden voor de nieuwsbrief.

Review by Louke Spigt / 25-05-13 / rated: 5 stars

 

 

 

 

 

 

Limburg Salsa Festival

If you didn’t go to Limburg Salsa Festival this year, not only did you miss some great shows and parties but you also missed a great performance by Gabriel GalanPeralta and Joachim! One of the most well organised festivals I have ever been to, with an amazing venue- perfect floor and very well ventilated main room where you could dance for hours. Very high quality shows and workshops for all levels, super-hot photographers and an amusing but warm atmosphere.

The shows:

The festival had some top quality shows from all artists of origins from all over the world. New York, Los Angeles,  Mexico, Israel, Germany, Italy, Greece, France…you name it! Performers, DJs, dancers and artists from all over the world, were joined together to create three spectacular nights. For the fourth time in Limburg, the participants could come and watch amazing performances of World-class Latin dancers, or even…join the competition!! Some amazing shows were given by Adolfo Indacochea and his Latin Soul Dancers, Gaby and Estefy, Alessandro & Philomena, Panayiotis and Mirto, Marco and Samantha, Estilo Dance, and many others.

The workshops:

As the organisers of Limburg Salsa Congress claim, there were three reasons  why every dancer should attend the workshops of the congress:

> learn

Both experienced or not experienced dancers,  should not  miss out on the amazing opportunities to learn from the world's best Latin dancers. For guys: learn new moves to impress the ladies on the dance floor! For Ladies: pick up amazing body movement techniques and learn how to follow exciting new moves. In this festival you had also the opportunity to learn the newest dance crazes such as Zouk, Bachata & Reggaeton - Tango, Swing & Samba!

> be inspired

Limburg Salsa Congress takes pride in inviting only the most talented and friendliest instructors from all over the world to teach. The workshops represent an opportunity to interact personally with our international instructors, to hear their personal stories and their philosophies on dancing and teaching, something which cannot simply be acquired by watching them dance socially.

> meet dancers from Europe & overseas

The Limburg Salsa Festival is an exciting opportunity to dance with different people. The workshops are a great way to meet new people from overseas. Chances are you'll be able to "try them out" at the workshop and make a mental note of who you want to ask to dance during the socials. You also get to "break the ice" at the workshops instead of spending hours agonizing about how to ask someone to dance during the socials.

The Parties:

Three crazy party nights + one pool party?!?! What more can someone ask for! Lots of party rooms to dance salsa dura, salsa romantica, kizomba, bachata, and reggeaton and lots of dancers from all over the world, all under one roof made the parties a BLAST! In my opinion, another impressive and very inspiring aspect of the party was the opportunity that EVERYONE in the festival had, to be professionally photographed by Mr Khalid Jalli, who has done some amazing work in the field of photography. After the parties, every dancer could attend an after party until 9 'o clock in the morning! The hot pool party  included lots of animation from the world’s most energetic artists.

Khalid Lazar and Naomi Dongelmans , we will all be there next year!!
You can buy your full pass for next year here!

Until next time, see you all another amazing congress!

Review by Kelly Stavridaki / 25-04-2013 / rated: 5 stars

Dos Bailadores Friday Night Party - Leiden

Dos Bailadores - The red party!! Celebrating Monique’s 50th birthday, was dressed in red and black. With bright red colours, great music, food and drinks, amazing shows, and a crazy crowd, what more can someone ask for a super-hot friday night??

For first time, a saw a dancefloor very different than normal. A great band with surprising live music, that fascinated the crowd. One could say that it was not a pure salsa, bachata, kizomba and zouk party, but the music programme also included disco, rock, and many popular hits!

With a very low entrance fee of € 7,- the party guests could enjoy lots of delicious and gourmet food snacks, both salty and sweet. Plus, all kinds of candies and fondue fountains with fresh fruit could be found next to the bar!

In my oppinion, the hottest moment of the event were the fascinating shows, best of which were given by Estilo dance, Willem (dance Alegria) and the EXTRAORDINARY Anderson and Brenda. The shows included salsa, zouk, tango,oriental and brazilian samba.

The atmosphere of the party was really glamorous, as all the ladies looked very sexy in their red dress outfits. Monique looked very happy to be celebrating her birthday among great friends, and great dancers.

Dos Bailadores is a wonderful venue-a spacious party area with excellent dancefloor, and dancers of all levels with a great desire for dance. As lots of parties are taking place in dos bailadores, I strongly recommend to give it a try, if you need some real fun!

Review by Kelly Stavridaki / 25-04-13 / rated: 4 stars

Salsa Wednesdays at Boterwaag - Den Haag

If you want to try a different ‘after work’ place for a Wednesday night, Boterwaag in Grote Markt(Den Haag) is the ultimate place to be! Salsa Nights take place at the Boterwaag, every Wednesday from around 21.30 until late hours in the morning…!

Everybody is welcome for some free dancing to salsa, bachata, chacha, kizomba, merengue and reggeaton tunes. De Boterwaag Salsa Nights are open for everyone, even the less experienced dancers. And it's also an ideal evening to impress the love of your life...or even to find one! I was really impressed by the huge crowd of people dancing in the middle of this amazing place, moving as one…I felt like I was in Cuba, dancing and forgetting about tomorrow…

Always with amazing DJs, the music makes you want to start moving even if you don’t know any steps. This place combines all levels of dancers, from very high level passionate dancers who brake their week in half with some salsa, to just everyday people who just went out for a drink, but ended up having the time of their life in the centre of Den Haag. Everyone dances till they drop, and the dance floor remains full even at late hours!

If you just want to have some drinks and a bit of dance, the best time to be at Boterwaag is around 09.00 pm. If, on the other hand, you belong to the “hard-core dancers” category, the best time to go is around 10.30 to 11.00 pm.

In my opinion, it is one of the best places anyone could find to spend an amazing Wednesday night, and from now on…Wednesday is also a “Salsa day” in my calendar!
Until next time…see you all in Boterwaag!

Review by Kelly Stavridaki / 18-04-13
Rated: 4 stars

Fusion Salsa Party - Bachata edition - Nijmegen

It was one of those relaxing family salsa nights with great atmosphere and great people. FusionSalsa Party is a great event in Nijmegen, this time with two rooms, Salsa and Bachata. With DJ LALO "El Bandido" in the sensual Bachata room (occasionally you could hear a little Merengue) and DJ RODRIGUEZ Betho in the Salsa room playing Salsa Romantica, guaguanco, Mambo and Cha Cha, the place was full of passionate salseros and bachateros. What is more, the attendants could enjoy a workshop, a great show, and of course…great food, with a variety of Spanish Tortillas, chicken wings and meatballs.

Personally, I really enjoyed myself, because it was just what I needed in order to have real fun. Great floor, cool dancers, nice drinks, people with smiles on their faces, and fantastic music. As a genuine salsa music lover myself, I heard songs that one does not ofter come across in a regular salsa party. The selected chacha and mambo songs drove everyone on the dance floor. At 2.30, when the party was supposed to finish, the floor was still packed with dancers who asked for more salsa!

The Location of the party was Fusion Latina, in Nijmegen, the party went on from 21.30 (with a workshop) to 02.30 while the showtime was at 00.30. The admission fee was : € 7.50 and as always, the parties were non smoking!

Until next time…see you all on the dance floor!

Review by Kelly Stavridaki / 08-04-13 / Rated: 3 stars

Bachata Mania - Asten (NB)

De naam zegt het al, een Bachata feest waar je helemaal los kan gaan als een maniac op de heerlijkste Dominican Bachata beats en lekker kan wegdromen tijdens de Bachata Romantica. Dan snap je dat ik, BachataJunky helemaal op mijn plaats was deze avond.

Dit kwam onder meer door het top Bachata duo mister (Bachata) Latin Mania himself en DJ Marlon (bekend van Exclusive Bachata Night). Dit was alweer de 14e Editie van dit top feest in de sfeervolle locatie "de Pandoer" in Asten. DJ Latin Mania bewijst maar weer dat 'al het goede van ver komt' En VER is het, als je vanuit Amsterdam en omstreken naar dit feest moet rijden (1.45 uur). Toch zag ik veel bekenden die ook de moeite hadden gedaan om minimaal 1,5 uur te rijden. Maar ja, je bent een junky of niet!

Ook qua latin feesten weten die zuiderlingen wel hoe ze moeten feesten. Er is een ontspannen sfeer en je ziet allemaal vrolijke mensen om je heen. Hierdoor voel je je meteen welkom en als vreemdeling uit de grote steden hoef je echt niet bang te zijn om de hele avond aan de kant te staan.

Maar dan denk je nu misschien; "helemaal zo ver rijden voor een Bachata feestje?" Het is een ultieme belevenis op zich! Ben je een echte Salsa danser? Dan heb je een hele zaal voor jou en jouw mede SalsaJunkies. Ik ben geen salsa liefhebber, maar ik heb niemand stil zien staan.

Ik heb zowaar mijn dansende uren niet alleen doorgebracht in de mooie ruime Bachata zaal.. Deze editie was er namelijk ook een Kizomba zaal. Het was de kleinste zaal, maar helemaal vol met genietende mensen. Ik was zelfs bijna vergeten dat er nog een Bachata zaal was.

De dansers uit de grote steden kunnen nog heel wat leren van deze zuiderlingen. Terwijl Kizomba nog in de wieg ligt in Amsterdam en omstreken (qua lessen en feesten) is het Kizomba virus al helemaal verspreidt in het zuiden van het land... Laat dat virus maar komen!

SAMENVATTING
Aantal zalen: 3 zalen Aanbod: workshop & show Rekening houden met interesse van de dansers: Prima, alle zalen waren vol, maar wel dansbaar. Catering aanwezig: In de grote bachata zaal, aanbod aangepast aan publiek. Misschien is het handiger om dit wat meer uit de zaal plaatsen ivm geuren.. Garderobe: Beetje chaotisch zonder strak systeem en een lastige plek om aan het einde met z'n allen de jassen op te halen. Hierdoor een lange rij. Toiletten: gratis en centraal. Ontvangst: Erg vriendelijke portier en dame bij de kassa. Tijden: 21.00 - 03.00 Sfeer: Erg ontspannen en open.

Review door Bachata Junky / 27-03-2013 / Rated: 4 sterren