On New Shoes

I recently won a pair of salsa shoes. I was overjoyed of course as they are beautiful and because like most people, I feel like I never win anything. But most importantly because you can never have enough salsa shoes!

Only problem is, while they are undoubtedly gorgeous, they do not perfectly fit my feet! Heartbreak! OK, so they squeeze one of my big toes just a little bit and it will be fine in a few socials time, but in the mean time, it's a good reminder that you cannot go wrong with Alvarez!

My love of his shoes and the fact that I can put a new pair on, dance for 7 hours straight and not have one blister, lives on. Oh and I bought a new pair recently before I happened to win the shoe lottery so when I'm done putting my feet through a little bit of pain for a whole lot of prettiness, I can revert to having my cake and eating it too.

See below a picture of my brand new and free Oobashoos!

On Istanbul Dance Festival 2013 (upcoming)

Despite my very positive experience of the Istanbul Dance Festival in 2011, it would appear that this was not shared by all.

I have since learnt that many people did not appreciate the car park as a venue, that they thought the workshops were over-crowded and the shows were overly delayed. Apparently also the artist contingent was not treated as well as they have grown accustomed to, which left many of them most unhappy.

But the weird thing is, the grand majority of the people saying such things about the event were not actually there! While they may be fact, focusing on a few of them ignores the fuller picture, which was by far a more positive one. If you're considering the next Istanbul Dance Festival, please disregard the grossly exaggerated complaints, consider the line-up, the wonderful social dancers in Istanbul and allow the organisers to learn from their previous mistakes. Ultimately - go, try it out and make your own opinion.

Selene Tovar

It's her birthday today and so, in honour of such a beautiful dancer, here's a great social dance video of her dancing in Istanbul in 2011.