Review Holland Summer Salsa Congress Friday August 27, 2010

I am writing this review as we are heading into the second day of the second Holland Salsa Congress organized by the Dutch Salsa superstars Randolph and Lilly of Salsa Royale in Vianen, which is a city in the neighborhood of Amsterdam. The kick-off party held yesterday, August 27 2010, was a huge success.

Friday night is always exciting because all the participants get to meet their Salsa instructors and see some of them perform. For others like me it is also a great opportunity to reunited with some old friends and acquaintances we have not seen in years. I told Luis Vasquez that he was the first instructor who taught me LA Style Salsa way back in 1999. Later on, he used this information when he was MC-ing on stage and dancing with my wooden clogs on. I talked with Manuel Mascarell – who incidentally also took the same workshops in '99 – and discussed his triumph over sugar addiction. Salsa Footwork or shines are still not Super Mario's “cup of tea” and Neeraj gave me an inside scoop on the show he is going to perform tonight. It will be the third time he and

I also made some new friends. I listened to some of DJ Lalo's favorite music - which is Salsa music (mostly Guaguanco) of the '70's – outside and next to the hotel entrance. One of the great songs was Kevin Davis' English spoken Salsa titled “Time to Spend”.

Breathtaking Salsa Shows & World Record Orgasms

The room was fully packed and all the attendees were waiting in great anticipation when Melissa Fernandez and Luis Vazquez announced the first performer. Before announcing the fourth act, Luis and Melissa wanted the public to guess the world record of the amount of orgasms a woman has had in an hour: it was 134. The lady who was the closest – with 34 – got a free Dance DVD. The interaction between Luis and DJ Incognito was also very funny: Luis was complaining about DJ Incognito being to slow reacting to his queues. He did not understand that the Dutch DJ was just pestering him. Some of Luis' jokes about Michael Jackson had some foreigners worried, but not the guests from Holland who are used to.

All of the Salsa showcases were great and very well executed, but my two favorite shows were the mix of Colombian & LA Style Salsa of Eider from Dubai & Luisa from Colombia, and Terry & Cecile's romantic Bachatango show that gave me goosebumps. Both shows got a standing ovation from the ecstatic crowd.

This is a clip of Terry & Cecile's Bachatango show at the Geneva Salsa Vintage Festival, 2010.

The party held in two rooms was crowded and I danced all night until 3 a.m. The official party ended at four o' clock, but I was informed that some private after-parties ended around 7 a.m. The atmosphere of the congress is great and Randolph & Lilly's staff is doing an excellent job servicing the artists and taking care that everything runs smoothly.

Today – Saturday the 28th  - the four rooms of the Van der Valk hotel in Vianen, in which the workshops are taking place, are fully packed. I am going to follow some workshops and enjoy the super shows & party tonight.

Are you coming?