Salsa in the City, NY/NJ
NY/NJ Salsa Festival…
A definite "must go" for all salseros

Thanksgiving weekend was the time. Brooklyn was the place. My dance team (Luna Negra) and I went to perform and dance for fun. It was an event that truly changed my perception of salsa at the global level, so I thought it would be a good idea to share what I saw there with all of you.

First off, let me say that we had a great time. There was plenty of hot dancing, plenty great performances and plenty great workshops. The one thing, however that impressed me the most about the event were the European dancers. I'm not talking about just the performers, but the Europeans in general who traveled across the pond to support their fellow salseros. All of them were incredible on the floor, men and women alike. One thing is for sure, the European salseros were "killin it!"

The appeal was truly international in every sense of the word. Luis Zagarra who produces the Festival along with Nelson Flores put together a fantastic show and in my opinion it was fueled mainly by its diversity. These two literally scoured the globe for salsa dance teams and brought terrific talent from Japan, Spain, Portugal and even Israel in addition to all of the known local groups and instructors. At one point on Saturday night I was watching a couple dance and heard someone mention that the guy was from Israel, the girl from Palestine. . . . dancing together in Brooklyn, New York. I thought to myself, "Now THAT is unity, unity in its most primal sense." That is what these congresses and festivals should be about, bringing dancers from all over the world together so that we can dance and learn from each other.

It is that very diversity in cultures that made this particular festival so great. It was a chance for people who may not even know that they dance salsa in Italy or Israel, to see up close and personal, just how global this dance really is. There are not many things in life that have the power to transcend the things in life like race, color, religion, politics and national origin that can separate people on a local and global level. This experience was proof to me that the power of salsa is strong enough to bring people together regardless of these barriers. On the dance floor, we all speak the same language.

I have to give a big thank you to Luis Zagarra and Nelson Flores for putting together such a rich and colorful salsa festival. You just got onto my "must go every year" salsa event list.

Keep up the good work.

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