Salsa! on London’s Charing Cross Road, the UK’s number one Latin venue, has organised a variety of events, all with a Latin flavour to entice and excite the residents and visitors to London this summer.
Starting on Tuesday 31st July, Salsa! will be hosting the London School of Samba’s Queen of the Bateria competition where the winner will have the honour of representing the school at the Notting Hill Carnival and all the school’s major events.
The Queen of the Bateria, or Queen of the Drums, is one of the most important dance positions in a Samba School. Traditionally, the Queen is the best dancer and contestants prepare for the competition all year. She is chosen by the school to be a source of inspiration for the drummers and her position is typically at the front of the Bateria as they perform during carnival parades and other events.
The evening will be split into three sections. From 7-9pm Salsa! customers will be able to take part in free Forro classes, a popular form of partner dance originating in North East Brazil. People from all levels are encouraged to take part and join in the fun.
At 9pm, the search for the Queen of the Bateria begins. Ten dancers will take to the stage, along with a chorus of Bateria, creating a cacophony of sound and sensation to showcase their skills in front of the Salsa! crowd and a panel of judges, all of whom have experience and links within the Latin dance community.
The dancers will then be shortlisted and invited to perform with the announcement of the winner turning into one big Bateria celebration with the whole of Salsa! invited to take part.
Continuing the Latin theme, on Wednesday 1st August, flying in from New York is the World’s Number One Salsa DJ, Henry Knowles who will perform an exclusive set at Salsa! guaranteed to get the crowd in the party spirit.
On Thursday 9th August the club plays host to the six times World Salsa Champions, Jhon and Judy who will be providing a dazzling array of dance moves as well as a bit of Latino Loco as they perform alongside Michel Castellanos on the drums and Grupo Racies, a Colombian folk lore dance group.
The calendar of activity comes to a close on Sunday 12th August with a celebration of all things Cuban at Spirit de Cuba. Gabriel Teixeira Sainhas, an upcoming talent on the Cuban Salsa scene, will be performing dance animation and will be encouraging everyone to get involved.
At each event Salsa! will be organising free dance classes before each headline act. Classes start at 7pm except for Sunday 12th August when they begin at 5pm.
Salsa! offers 50% off all drinks from 5-8pm everyday along with three tapas dishes for just £10. To find out more about these events, please visit: http://www.bar-salsa.com/