The year in congresses (2014)

Here’s a quick summary of the festivals/congresses/salsa weekends I’ve done this year.

1. January – Weekend in Paris

Two glorious nights of glorious dancing at Sal’sounds and O’Sullivans.

2. January - Stars of Salsa in London, UK

This one’s on my doorstep so it’s a tough one not to attend. Not many internationals, but generally good dancing and incredibly tiring! Was disappointed because I was promised Karel Flores, as a teacher but she only attended one party to social dance…Promises, promises…

3. February – Valentine’s Salsa Festival in Zagreb, Croatia

Small, friendly and perfect for getting to know people. Spent a lot of time dancing with Grupo Alafia and a couple of frenchies, which suited me fine. Unfortunately, the festival is being cut down this year for budgetary reasons so will now be more akin to a workshop weekend with a couple of parties.

4. March – Salsa Addicted Festival, Timisoara, Romania

One of my favourites in 2013, SAF disappointed in 2014 by virtue of a last minute issue with the venue. Having a main salsa room split into two, a hardcore mambo and a romantica/bachata room didn’t quite do it for me. Going back this year though to give it another chance as the dancing never disappoints!

5. April – NYC for Easter

Dancing at Noche de Descarga, Nelson Flores’ social was particularly memorable, but otherwise unimpressive wekend in terms of dancing but awesome in terms of food and shopping!

6. May – MamboCity 5 star congress, London, UK

One of my favourites of the year. There was something wonderfully magical about this one this year. Non-snobby, family, happy vibe all over. Great music. Great dancing. I’ve never felt this way about MamboCity before, but I’m very hopeful that I might get the same feeling again in 2015. Notable mention goes to a fantastic 2-hour Juan Matos workshop and to the pancakes at breakfast in the morning!

7. May – Milan on2 festival, Italy

I spent too much of this weekend working. However, the dancing level was good, the snob level was high. The music wasn’t fantastic to be honest, nor was the sound quality, dance floor organisation (three, rather randomly pieced together floors in one room, with the DJ in the middle). Good show program given large pool of Italian talen. Fantastic camaraderie and pre/post party hangouts though!

8. May - Weekend in Paris

Some really good dancing as usual at Sal’sounds and O’Sullivans.

9. June – Croatia Summer Salsa Festival, Rovinj, Croatia

The dancing in 2013 had been simply epic. In 2014, the dancing level fell off a bit, as did the DJs' music selection. This festival is now a little too large and too crazy for me. It’s actually difficult to find a quiet beach spot! Rovinj is still magical, but after 5 visits, I think it may be time to move on. 

10. July – Salsa Beach Splash, Sibenik, Croatia

This one also hits the top spots for my favourite this year (and in all its editions!). In 2012, I attended for 3 nights, in 2013 for 4 nights and in 2014 for 5 nights. I’m actually thinking of making it 6 next year! Holiday perfection, with DJ sets and dancers that are perfect for social dancing all night, every night. The tent makes the temperature perfect, even in the middle of summer. The resort makes everything painless. 

This year, I was fortunate enough to attend the Karel Flores choreography bootcamp and trained hard for two days before going on to do two days of workshops. I was worried beforehand that dancing all day and night would make me tired and break me, but it simply gave me more energy! I wasn't exactly committed to going to the workshops, it just worked out that way because of the quality of the classes on offer! The only shame of spending so much time inside is that I missed out on tanning time!

My one complaint was that the pool party didn’t play much salsa, but then, in the scheme of 5 days and nights, I can hardly complain about 4 short hours that were highly entertaining regardless. 

11. September – Marrakesh Salsa Festival, Morocco

I loved this one too. Not for the festival itself, but for the holiday experience. It’s difficult for me to accept the idea of a full pool-side holiday. Throw in nightly salsa dancing though and it’s right up my street! 

The blue sky in Marrakesh and perfectly secluded apartment compound we stayed in was heavenly, especially in contrast to the hustle and bustle of the streets and souks of the city.

The cream of Moroccan dancers made this festival worthwhile for me and I found the music to be generally good. The white party at Nikki Beach (outside) on Sunday was a sight to behold. Unfortunately, the level of dancing is generally low, with lots of on1 dancers, so if you want only good dances, you need to be quite selective. 

Probably the only festival I’ve ever come back from feeling rested, relaxed and happy. Definitely one worth doing to charge up your sunshine batteries pre-winter!

12. October – Berlin Salsa Festival, Germany

One of the biggest out there. One central venue, easy access, cheap accommodation, dancing till 9am. This one has it all and is incredibly well attended by dancers far and wide. 

I had some great dances with friends, no new discoveries and completely killed my feet. An emergency stretching session was required on Sunday and the pain in my feet lasted long after my return! Warning: Sometimes this one feels more like a networking event than a salsa festival though because you spend so much time saying hello to people!

13. November – Warsaw Salsa Festival, Poland

Probably the cheapest congress in Europe right now courtesy of the Zloty, cheap hotel prices and cheap flights. Very well attended by Londoners and usually by frenchies, though this year, the French contingent was slightly disappointing. Generally high level of dancing on the social floor, but also quite a strong presence from the fashionistas (same as Berlin, but less diluted). 

Fantastic live music by Jimmy Bosch and los Dislocados from the Ukraine. In comparison, the DJ sets felt a bit flat to me, only having me properly flying on Saturday night. 

In my mind, Warsaw has passed the sweet spot in size and is getting close to losing its “one big family on the dance floor” vibe. It will most likely grow again next year, so it will be interesting to see how things evolve.

14. November – Mzansi Cape Town Salsa Festival, South Africa

Simply a dream. The festival in itself was well organised, but the level generally unimpressive (still better than Marrakesh though!). There was an international crew of social dancers, a selection of artists and a strong local teaching contingent that were quite sufficient to keep me dancing through the weekend.

The festival was enhanced by dancing outside, under the sun, by an impromptu after party organised at a moment’s notice and by a sunset boat cruise with free and unlimited champagne as well as a varied music set and a whole lot of dancing. Throw in some tourist attractions – climbing up Lion’s Head, a open top bus tour, going up Table Mountain – and you’ve got a winner for a once in a lifetime salsa holiday experience!

On Rovinj vs. Sibenik - CSSF vs. SBS

For those in the salsa scene, the biggest question for 2012 was Rovinj or Sibenik? These two festivals took place on the Croatian seaside, but a month apart. For about 6 months last year, the debate was hot on everyone’s lips. Those who had to choose made their choice, some of us were lucky to do both and afterwards – well everyone wanted to know which was better!

Well folks, the quick and easy answer is that they are different. While based around a similar recipe for success, the heady mixture of sunshine and pool parties, with similar options to stay longer and create a holiday experience rather than a quick dash salsa festival, the essence of these festivals and the experience at each diverged significantly. They were both fantastic and I will be stretching my budget and holiday days to attend both again this year.

As that cookie-cutter answer isn't particularly helpful, I've tried to lay out the differences and benefits of each below to help others decide.

Rovinj – “Party people looking for a salsa holiday”

+ It’s a massive congress and you just know that everyone will be there.

+ Rovinj is the most charming little place with a whole lot of magic in the air. I have been 3 times to date and each time I have put my suitcase down, taken out my flip flops on and breathed in pure unadulterated happiness. And then I kept on breathing in that happiness until the day I left. Just thinking about Rovinj makes me happy. It’s quite impressive!

+ The Festival is in its 9th year. The organisers have learnt a lot along the way and it is very well organised. There’s so much going on, you basically get to pick and choose what you want to do. Remember to sleep a little, but otherwise, do try to join in as much as possible as the experience will be worth it!

+ Every year they add in an extra party or two. Last year they formalised the daily beach parties, the year before they created the Monday boat trips (every year they sell tickets to a whole extra boat vs. expectations), they’ve also added a Monday party for all those who stick around an extra day…

+ Most people stay in cosy little flats in the old town for €20-€30 per night. It’s a bargain and it’s lovely not to stay in a hotel!

+ You can dance any style you want – Cuban, LA/mambo, kizomba/bachata

+ Good DJs – Mauri, Willy (AMS) and Oz….This year they have Romy on the lineup too…

+ Concerts – always at least one, if not two

+ Pool party – the EVENT of the year for many in the salsa world. Videos all over youtube, pictures all over facebook… Everyone gets involved. It gets a little crazy, but that’s all part of the fun!

- There are almost too many people. Even over 6 days it’s impossible to hang out with everyone you know, or even see everyone. You have to make choices and prioritise some people over others.

- You’re paying for a massive artists line-up but probably won’t make it to the workshops as the beach is quite simply too appealing

- The artists don’t generally social dance unless they are asked to do so for charity. They do however participate strongly in the pool party entertainment. The absence of most artists on the social dance floor doesn’t really hurt the parties as people are simply too relaxed to care!

- Parties last till 6am but every night you will feel like you’ve been robbed of time and deserve a few more hours of dancing!

- Dance level – You’ll find everything at this festival – the drunks, the party people, the women chasers, the dancers, the sun lovers…it caters to everyone!

- It gets unbelievably hot on the dance floor and you will need to take breaks to avoid letting your partner slip through your fingers at every spin

- Rocky beaches – no sand! They are still awesome though, don't get me wrong!

- Flights getting more expensive every year – no longer possible to fly to Pula for reasonable prices, Trieste, Venice and Zagreb are the only real options for flying in. It’s still worth the extra trek though!

Sibenik – “Dancing people looking for a summer salsa festival”

+ Fewer people than Rovinj – pretty much all on2 dancers

+ It’s only in its second year and the organisation was already pretty seamless in the first edition. They've clearly watched and learnt from other congresses

+ The dance floor was under a tent that was open around the sides – you could dance all night long without feeling like you were in desperate need of a shower (or just walked out of one)

+ The salsa room was full of great on2 dancers – a bachata/kizomba room provided a break if you wanted it – live band on Friday. I personally didn’t mind the absence of the Cuban room, or of a whole host of dancers that I don’t often dance with either…

+ Great DJs – Haihan, Shaan, Dani K, Willy (FR) – All their sets were pure gold last year. In comparison the music in Rovinj was average/ok until 3pm and then got good when Willy/Oz came on for the final set…All Rovinj needs to improve is stricter controls on how much some of its DJs drink before their set…

+ Great dancers – The festival attracted the “dancing people” instead of the “party people”…The result was amazing dancing all night long, night after night

+ Shorter artist line-up, but the organisers clearly tried to bring artists who were “triple threats”, i.e. those who are great teachers, produce great shows and are keen and brilliant social dancers as well. The atmosphere was chilled despite the artists’ social dancing. Frankie was around all night, social dancing non-stop but there was never a circle of onlookers with cameras crowding around him.

+ Parties lasted until at least 7am. We had to start begging the DJs to play bad songs so we could tear ourselves away from the dance floor!

+ Pool party – Slightly less animated and clearly a smaller effort than in Rovinj. Having said that I had a lot more fun at the Sibenik pool party, even though I fell asleep under a speaker for a couple of hours! There was more actual dancing (of all styles), less of a sense that you were part of a mob and more of a feeling that each and every one of us was participating in creating something new.

+ Free Nivea travel-size hygiene products!

- Based in a holiday resort – Flats for rent 10 minutes’ walk away at prices similar to Rovinj. You can stay in the resort for higher prices. Everything is available at the resort, but it lacks charm…

- Rather than residing in the old town you need a 10 minute taxi ride to get there…          

- People were housed across the resort and outside the resort as well. Normal people were also staying in the hotels and weren’t always too happy with the salsa dancers…While people weren’t housed any closer together in Rovinj, in Sibenik there was a sense that we were all close enough but slightly far apart at times…

- 80% of attendees did workshops – the beach-y areas were somewhat quiet during the afternoons

- Less food choice – resort restaurants and a couple along the road we were staying that closed early…

- Also no sand – you could argue there were better rocks, but I think that’s pushing it a bit…

- They had a problem with the floor due to poorly timed rainfall before the congress. The perfectly new wooden floor became a little uneven as a result and you tended to gravitate from one side to the other when dancing. Forgot about this by Sunday though and I’m sure this will be one thing that they definitely won’t let happen again….

- More expensive flights – transfers needed from Zadar or Split.

If you still don’t know – try them both out! Or hijack them and spend your money on the Puerto Rico Salsa Congress in July…You can’t really go wrong with summer festivals!