Entertainment
16 November, 2024
Salsa to sizzle in the tropics
FEEL the rhythm and Latin flavour as Cairns’ own Sabor Dance Company gears up for the World Salsa Solos with a pre-competition showcase on November 22 full of talent, passion and tassels to spare.
Ahead of their big moment at the World Salsa Solos (WSS) in Gold Coast from November 28 to December 1, Sabor Dance Company will offer Cairns residents a sneak peek of their talent with a showcase at the Cairns Eisteddfod on November 22.
The night – from 7.30-10.30pm – will feature exclusive performances set to compete at the World Salsa Solos, a free dance lesson, social dancing and a guest performance by world-renowned dancers Mary Grace Anderson and Jaime Jesus straight from Sydney.
“We’re going to show the public what we have been working on throughout the year,” said Sabor Dance Company owner and founder Jose Martinez.
“It’s open for family and friends to come along and check out how hard these guys have been working to put a show together. We’re also going to have special guests from Sydney, Mary and Jamie, who are professional Latin dancers doing a special performance for us.”
This year five dancers from the company are competing at the solos with choreographies created by Mr Martinez.
“We’ve participated in this event every single year since it started back in 2009,” he said.
“We’ve won loads of trophies from it, I can’t even say what the total is, so we’re hoping to win again this year.
“This year five of my students are competing in salsa and bachata – Shizu Tanaka, Miho Narikawa, Max Mackenzie, Jeanfer Salas and Nora Pagett doing a solo in bachata.
“We’ve been preparing the whole year to give them the confidence for the event.”
Mr Martinez said they were proud to represent Cairns and the Far North at these events.
“Firstly, we’re a smaller team and being from Cairns it takes a little longer to win over the public,but we do,” he said.
Professional ballroom dancer and first-time solos competitor Jeanfer Salas said she was honoured to represent the region.
“Dancing is a happy drug. Life is hard enough and with dancing, you find happiness, and all you need is your body, it’s what Jose always says – it’s connection with yourself, with people and with music,” she said.
To buy tickets for the showcase,
visit https://bit.ly/4hUOWAy
