北京举办第一届仲夏萨萨节

北京被誉为中国的salsa之都，从7月29日－8月1日这里将举办第一届北京仲夏萨萨节。此次盛会将首次隆重推出由世界级的舞蹈家和音乐家Mambo Jack和真真亲自编导的剧场式风格的salsa现场表演，主题为：舞恋salsa。届时还将邀请来自美国纽约的世界著名salsa大师Sekou Mcmiller亲临指导，举办为期两天的work shop。此次的work shop将针对所有级别的学员进行训练。当然，每天还有整晚的salsa 舞会在等待大家，让你一直跳到午夜！世界著名DJ现场打碟、精彩纷呈的现场表演，还有来自全国各地以及世界知名舞者与您共舞。热爱舞蹈的你千万不要错过这个绝佳的机会！

Organized by Beijing-based Phoenix Dance Studio, American instructor Jack Dunn, better known in Salsa circles as "Mambo Jack," says the "2010 Summer Latin Festival" promises to be a memorable one, with three full days of Salsa and Latin dance performances, workshops and more for spectators and participants.

"I've done other small festivals in the past, but this is the first festival that I've done in the middle of the summer. I wanted to mix it up; I wanted it to be different, and I didn't want it to be like the other events where it was just workshops during the day and parties in the evening. This year, we're doing a special show called, ‘For the Love of Salsa' which is a story about Salsa."

"For the Love of Salsa" kicks off Friday night at the One Club with a live show by twenty world-class dancers and accompanying musicians, followed by two days of events at Beijing venues such as Music Box and Casa Latina.
Zhen Zhen is an instructor at the school and Dunn's Chinese dance partner of many years who is also performing Friday night. As a Chinese girl who learned to Salsa among other Latin dances, she is eager to educate other Chinese people through this kind of show, she says.

"Chinese people can also understand the music, not only dance and more about the culture of Salsa. Jack wants to make this story, and let Chinese people understand better."

The workshops offered this weekend include Salsa, Mambo, Cha-Cha and Bachata and are open to all levels, with an emphasis placed on total beginners. On Saturday night, dancers have a chance to participate in a "White Party," known all over the world for the all-white attire of the attendees.

Dunn says for the parties and the workshops, even those without partners are encouraged to participate no matter the level.

"That's the great thing about Salsa, and that's another reason it sparks and it grows so fast is because Salsa is for anybody. You don't have to be a trained dancer or you don't have to start dancing when you're young; I started when I was twenty-one years old. So there aren't these limitations. Maybe most people, they start dancing as just for fun. They want to be able to learn so that they can go to the clubs and dance and have fun, and enjoy the music."

The Beijing Salsa and Latin dance scene has certainly developed since Dunn arrived here six years ago. Now, with venues like Salsa Caribe, Casa Latina and other venues with a live band, Dunn says the increased exposure has led to a definite surge in interest from both Chinese and expats.

But teaching Salsa to students isn't solely about the dance itself, he says.

"One of the beautiful things about Latin music is the culture that comes along with the music. And one of the things is to get them to understand the culture and this is a big challenge, is to go from just doing moves on a dance floor to actually feeling the music and it's something that they don't grow up with. But it's something that I didn't grow up with, so everybody goes through the processes of being able to understand the music a little bit more."

Dunn says personally, he never imagined his own love of Salsa would bring him all the way to China to teach. Yet, eleven years later after learning Salsa and six years after moving to China, he's continuing to help build the Salsa scene here in Beijing through teaching classes and putting on events like this one.

For those who understand and those who don't, those with skill or perhaps two left feet, the Summer Latin Festival invites you to take your chances.
 
This weekend, Beijing's sassy Salsa people will be out in full force, ready to soak up a little bit of the capital's Latin culture in China.
 
For CRI, I'm Andrea Hunt.