Paul Young
Managing Director
Chanel Hemley
Events Assistant
Mandi Foley
Office Manager
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Salsa UK was established in 1998
during the feverish early days of salsa in London.
The organisation began by hosting club nights in the south
London and Kent areas and has grown to run the biggest
annual salsa congress in the UK. Salsa UK has reached
out overseas to form bonds with international Latin promoters
and dancers, working to bring over some of the biggest
names in the salsa world to teach and perform in the UK.
The company has evolved to run Latin concerts, all day
dance events, holidays and recently launched a second
annual congress - 'The Brit Salsa Fest' in the north of
England. Salsa UK now also co-hosts dance events around
the world. Next stop, interplanetary Latin parties
Did you know that...
The first official Salsa UK event
took place in April 1999 at the Fairfield Hall in Croydon,
south London.
Salsa UK is proud to have been responsible for teaching
thousands of people their first salsa steps through regular
weekly club nights, with the extraordinary help of a vast
array of talented teachers. We feel it's time to name
drop those who've taught at our venues include: Richard
Marcel, Marchant Birch and Pepita Birch, Robert Charlemagne,
Phillip and Vanessa, Lanre Ajani, Gary Young, Mark Waters,
Andy Moore, SuperMario, Susana Montero, Leon Rose, Rafael
Del Busto Cuni, Janet Fuentes Torres, Peter Cooke, Rebecca
Singleton, Andrea Stewart, Mike Richards, Nicky Pugh,
Osbanis, Laith Sami, Adam Lainani, Alexandre Amoroso,
Miguel Lungo, Paul Marcel, Moe Flex, Lee Knights, Tina
Bailey, Alicia Farren, Giovanna Lorente, Nadi Laalej and,
of course, co-founder of Salsa UK, Imogen Moore . In a
relentless drive to offer UK dancers the chance to experience
the best of the international salsa scene, Salsa UK has
consistently brought over top names from overseas to perform
and teach. Among the many hell yes! responses to our invitations
to the UK, have been: Edie 'The Salsa Freak', Johnny Vasquez
and Roman Morales, Tropical Gem, Hacha Y Machete, Frankie
Martinez, Salsa Dance Squad, Juan Matos, Candy Mena, Farid
Ferchach, Nelson Flores, Tony Lara & his Serial Dancers,
Uforia Dance Company and Jazzy & Anita .
The first UK salsa congress was held in 2002 on the south
coast at Butlins in Bognor Regis, the holiday camp and
veritable British institution morphed into a salsa village
for an entire weekend of workshops, performances, live
music and parties. Now called the UK International Salsa
Congress, it has become a landmark in the UK salsa calendar,
attracting more people each year. The event draws dancers
from places as diverse as Dubai, eastern Europe and the
US and at the last count there were more than 2,500 salseros
jostling for a place on the dancefloor. By the way, this
congress has more workshops (at least ten per hour) than
ANY OTHER congress in the world ever!
In 2003 we took on the Herculean task of bringing an entire
Broadway-style show of 30 dancers from New York to Butlins.
Culture shock it may have been (for them), but they captured
the imagination of the Brits. Latin Madness , devised
by US salsa star Nelson Flores, proved a huge hit. This
comedy musical included some of the hottest salsa acts
around and nothing like it had ever been seen in the UK
before.
We still liked organising big parties that didn't take
up an entire weekend or involve the transportation of
a multitude of megastars from all over the globe, so Salsa
UK launched a monthly Salsa Slam in central London, hooked
up with Midlands promoter Latin Motion for a Salsa Jam
in Birmingham and hired out dance club mecca Ministry
of Sound in the capital for an 'all dayer' in 2003
To encourage group shows, Salsa UK staged a European Salsa
Olympics at its Euro Slam event in central London in 2005.
The event attracted teams from all over the Continent
and the competition was won by homegrown talents the Diablo
Dance Company, directed by London-based Laith Sami.
Looking for a bit more sunshine, Salsa UK teamed up with
Dance Holidays to run salsa trips to Cuba in 2002 &
2003, taking dancers back to the heart and homeland
of salsa.
Salsa UK is keen to support Latin music and has co-promoted
live events such as the La Linea Festival and outdoor
summer concert Latin Splash in 2004 and 2005, as well
as the Carnival de Cuba after party featuring Paulito
FG in 2004.
The first Brit Salsa Fest in February 2006 saw Salsa UK
and northern-based Salsology take over the prestigious
Winter Gardens venue in Blackpool for a weekend of salsa
shows, workshops and parties, featuring a host of top
performers and teachers including Yamulee, Hacha Y Machete,
Juan Matos and Candy Mena, Tony Lara & Claudia, Leon
Rose, Susana Montero, SuperMario, Salsa Dance Squad, Irene
Miguel and the SwingGuys. |
