Overall – Incredible
experience – both a congress and a fantastic holiday in one sunny package!
This was the second iteration of
the Mzansi Cape Town Salsa Festival. I did not attend the first one but had
heard good things. This festival still feels like a product of love given its
infancy, and is evidence of what you can do with a lot of passion, hard work
and a dedicated team.
Over and above the salsa
festival, the organising team also pulled together a complete tour itinerary,
including transport to and from each of the attractions for visiting
internationals. These were a suite of activities in and around Cape Town chosen
specifically to give us the best from our visit.
The festival has been pushed back
a couple of weeks compared to last year’s iteration. The result is warm/hot
weather, perfect for flip flops and hanging out at the beach (with sun-block!).
The sun in Cape Town is very hot, but there are windy spots, so if you’re going
next year, make sure you bring clothes for all occasions.
One of the most amazing
activities of the week was the Sunset Boat Cruise. This took place on the
Monday after the festival, gathered all the participants on a boat with free
and unlimited champagne. The boat sailed out from the Waterfront towards Camps
Bay where we watched the sunset before coming back. The music on the boat
ranged from hip hop to salsa, kizomba and bachata and was an absolutely perfect
mix for a very merry crowd! Beautiful views, happy people and dancing. What
more could you want?
Other activities included:
-
A morning climb up Lion’s Head, with breath-taking views all the
way up to the top
-
A visit to the Biscuit Mill – famous for its food stalls and fun
market vibe
-
A visit to Mzoli’s, a typical South African Braai, which was
essentially a big BBQ with a DJ and a hell of a lot of dancing
-
Dancing outside by the sea-front – apparently this little piece of
joy happens weekly!
-
An open bus tour of Cape Town, with a stop off and ride up Table
Mountain in the cable car
-
A morning at the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens
-
A couple of afternoons spent a Camp’s Bay tasting delicious sushi
and watching the sunset
-
A wine tasting experience in Constantia, which also included the
most amazing cheese and charcuterie board
-
A visit to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held in
captivity
-
A visit to the penguins in Boulders Bay
-
Tasting local delicacies (e.g. springbok, kudu, ostrich) and
listening to (and dancing with) a live local African band
Prices
1. Flights – Flights
to Cape Town vary depending on whether you want to fly direct or not. Indirect
flights via Dubai, Jo’Burg and Istanbul all helped save up to £300 vs. a direct
flight making the trip far more affordable. From London, the flight is about 11
hours direct on British Airways and overnight too with the arrival time only 2
hours different, making it a very time-effective way to travel – no losing
whole days like when you fly back from Thailand!
2. Pass prices – Pass
prices were thoroughly reasonable, the Rand was in our favour making most local
prices very accessible, including some really epic Camps Bay sushi!
3. Hotels – The
Hilton Double Tree in Observatory was the official congress hotel, but most
artists were held in private housing and many of the internationals (including myself)
opted to stay in a carefully chosen and fully booked out Bed & Breakfast,
nicknamed the Big Brother House. The transport package had pickups at all three
locations ensuring that no one was unwillingly left to his own devices.
4. Water – Bar
prices were reasonably cheap. I think ZAR 15 for a bottle of water, which is
less than £1. Remember though that South Africa has a tipping culture so you
need to add 10% to all prices.
Venue
The venue was The River Club
Conference venue, located in the Southern Suburbs. Fantastic air conditioning
must be noted!
1. Floor – The
dance floor was perfect wooden floor. It wasn’t particularly big, but it was
perfect for the number of people there. There was a bar/hangout area to the
side of the main dance floor, which was open onto the dance floor, so you could
flow easily from one to the other.
2. Number of dance floors – Two
dance floors – On the main floor, the music was primarily mambo, but with 3
hours of primarily Cuban music on Saturday night. Upstairs, there was a
kizomba/bachata floor.
3. Workshops vs. parties – The
workshops were all in the same venue as the parties.
4. Show seats. There
were chairs if you arrived early for the shows. There were seats at the front
for internationals, but anyone arriving late was left standing at the back.
5. Show visibility. N/A
– I unfortunately didn’t make the shows, which is a shame because I understand
that they showcased local African talent and this was really exciting to see.
6. Workshop visibility. N/A
– I assume this was good. There was a mini stage in the main room and generally
lots of space vs. people
7. Workshop organisation. N/A
– I didn’t attend any workshops so cannot comment.
 |
| Chilly, one of the organisers of the festival |
Crowd
1. Workshops. I
understand the workshops were well attended, but cannot comment on the level as
I wasn’t present
2. Parties Lots of
local dancers and a handful (c.60) internationals + artists. I had some great
dances and some good dances. The general level was average/good, though not
exceptional. Having said that the crowd was really friendly, smiley, welcoming
and the music was great! In addition, there was always loads of space to dance!
3. Size – I
would say this was on the small side of medium. Small enough to have repeat
dances every night, to be able to dance with your favourites almost whenever
you wanted to, run across the floor for the right person for every cha cha and
even dance with Terry/Magna if you wanted to.
4. After parties – The
parties officially ended at 5am and by that time, except for the last night,
there weren’t that many people left standing. Any after parties were of our own
(and MacDonald’s) making at the Big Brother House.
Line-up
1. Quality of teaching – Small
but strong line-up of internationals including Terry & Cecile, Magna Gopal,
Nina & Zerjon, Mitchell and Monica, Karel Flores
2. Choice of workshops – 4
workshops per hour, 6 hours of class per day. Classes only on Saturday and
Sunday.
3. Number of shows – N/A
4. Artists on the dance floor. It being
a friendly congress, most of the artists graced the dance floor with their
presence, as per their usual frequency – e.g. Terry was in the salsa room most
of the night, even with an injured arm, Magna was social dancing per usual,
Karel Flores made an appearance for about an hour before retiring…
5. DJs. Davina
and Martina (both from the UK) played a couple of great mambo sets, Marc-Anthony
Sheppard (Ukraine) also made musical magic. Two newcomer DJs from Stockholm –
Aram & Christian – were particularly impressive, but I may be biased by the
fact that for one of their sets, one would come out and dance with me while the
other picked the next song! Finally, a special mention to Guy Raphael, normally
just a Sensual DJ, who outdid himself for a couple of mambo sets, including the
last set on Sunday which was infused with cha cha cha (and still had the floor at
a small congress dancing). Guy also DJ’d the sunset boat trip. I haven’t historically
been a fan of Guy’s salsa music choices, but in this instance, I was very
impressed.
6. Bands. No
bands, no live music. Normal given the size of the festival.
 |
| Waddling penguin from Boulder's Beach |
Location
1. Central location? The
venue was 10 minutes from the Big Brother House (by car). You basically need a
car/taxi for this festival…or very kindly (and well) organised group-transport!
2. Distance from the airport – About
30 minutes by taxi from the airport. The organising team picked us up and took
us back so we never had to worry about anything.
3. Time to London – 11
hours on a plane approx. See initial comments re flights.
4. Number of days off work. I
took 7 days. It seems like a waste to go for any less. You may wish to consider
taking more to go to Namibia, Jo’Burg, Kruger National Park etc. There’s lots
to see whilst you’re out there!
For more information, check out
the website here: http://www.alloutsalsa.com/events/cape-town-salsa-festival
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