Michael Yip | 叶志坚

I was informed by a friend via Facebook that I was shown on MHI this morning dancing salsa.

Why wasn’t I given prior warning about it so I could have recorded it down!! WHY WHY WHY ARGH!

My 5min of fame and I missed my own show. Sigh.

Gerardo Rosales & Our Latin Groove has finally arrived in town a day after Bobby Dickerson and what better way to welcome them by having a small get together to drink and dance the night away. Yes, I know it’s a Wednesday night but heck, at some places, it’s known as the Mambo Night too!

Not only do we get to have a taste of what to expect at the Congress by these guys, the lucky few even get to learn some new tricks from Bobby too earlier in the night.

And nothing speaks better about the night other than dancing the night away to the songs by band as well as some favorite songs of my own (after I took over the deejay console from Martin).

The World Latin Salsa Congress is just around the corner and the excitement is building up in Penang especially Tanjung Bungah Hotel where the event will be held.

One of the most looked forward to aspect of the event other than the workshop is the LIVE BAND that’ll be entertaining all Salsa dancers at the Beach Party on Saturday night.

This year, we have none other than Gerardo Rosales & Our Latin Groove all the way from Venezuela. Check out this video of the band.

Have you registered for the event yet?

For those of you who hasn’t and have plans to attend, here’s some good news. If you are planning to attend only the Saturday afternoon workshop + Beach Party, we have a promotional package of RM800 (single room) and RM600 (twin sharing) with a 1 night stay at the hotel. So you can party like crazy and then just sleep over and head back to KL on Sunday after checking out at 12pm. Have you registered your participation yet? If not, write to me and we’ll arrange for you now! My email’s zique76 [at] hotmail.com

On Saturday, Whikeroom Bilique had a guest all the way from San Francisco. He’s none other than Zain Khandwala of RicaSalsa. A professional Salsa and Bachata instructor and Performer, Zain came by Malaysia in his travels to check out the scene here and decided to have a short Bachata workshop to cater to some of the curious minds here.

The whole workshop was short yet, he was able to deliver over a few steps as well as footwork to us. Which is nice, the only way I know how to dance bachata is the very basic so with what he taught, I can say that the number of moves I know have also increased. IF only I won’t forget it by the end of the week.

If you’re interested to meet up with him, there’s one great way to do it. Come to the Salsa Congress in Penang this April 18th – 21st and watch him impart some of his knowledge to the participants of the workshops and parties. For more details regarding the Congress, you can drop me an email at michael@worldlatinsalsacongress.com. For more photos from the workshop, you can check out the facebook’s photo gallery here.  

The 2nd Malaysia World Latin Salsa Congress 2008 kicked off with a bang with a Fun and Dance filled Press Conference held at Salsa Havana, KL.

MiSsMyNx and Friends ushers in the guests.

The Cuban Embassador was there to grace the event with short sweet speech to officiate the whole event. This is a change compared to some of the local VIPs speech which could last for hours (That’s how it felt like).

The Cuban Ambassador to Malaysia.

Of course, we also had Martin Reyes of Salsa Havana KL to give his take on the Salsa Congress in April. Huge crowd will be expect on the 18th – 21st April so if you’ve not registered yet do hurry up. Drop me a message to find out more about the prices and the registration forms.

Martin Reyes.

 Apart from the speeches, it’s never complete without Salsa Performances for a Salsa related event, right? That’s where we had the Ritmo Latino’s dance team performing…

Ritmo Latino

Followed by Bailanismo. 

Bailanismo.

After the performance, there’s of course the usual mingling around and party. Want to check out the action? click here.