Three days. Three dance forms. 300 dancers.
The fourth edition of the Kolkata Salsa Weekend, organised by Salsawala Studios, was a love letter to Latin forms and the joy of moving your body to music, bringing salsa, bachata and mambo enthusiasts from around the world to Kolkata. From May 19 to 21, participants attended workshops by internationally-acclaimed teachers, showcased their learnings, and partied till the wee hours of the night at TopCat CCU. My Kolkata witnessed the action up close.
Kolkata Salsa Weekend returned to its full glory after a gap of three years due to the pandemic
The duo behind the event, Hitesh H. Teckchandani aka Salsawala and Priyam Bose, pulled all the stops to ensure that KSW brought together a community of people who connected over dance and more, bringing together people from across the globe.
“I loved how people were dancing and sharing their cultural similarities, from Africa to Cuba to India. We’ve danced here all day and all night, without getting tired at all,” said Adonis Santiago, a Cuban dancer who was one of the instructors.
There were different classes and workshops for students across three proficiency levels: basic or open, improver, and intermediate. Salsawala’s quintessential culture of gender-neutral dancing was visible in how there was emphasis in making your partner feel comfortable regardless of gender, and always asking for consent.
The event started with workshops on day one where teachers helped dancers brush up their fundamental skills, technicals and body movements, giving them a feel of what was to come in the next two days, before wrapping up with a Disco Party.
Among the teachers were dancing duo Carolina Bustamante from Colombia, and Junior Aquino from Dominican Republic. “This is our second time in India, and we love the passion people have for dance here. We will take back fond memories of Bollywood and food from here too,” they said.
KSW had several acclaimed international teachers including (L-R) Carolina Bustamante (Colombia), Junior Aquino (Dominican Republic) and Adonis Santiago (Cuba)
The second day upped the ante, with three simultaneous workshops for different levels. Apart from several classes that taught the basics, there were also workshops about more granular themes like hand changes and fusion footwork in salsa, partnerwork in mambo, and musicality shines in bachata. The evening wrapped up with participants putting up 23 different performances, followed by a social dance party.
The event ended with a co-ord themed party
The final day began with a Rueda bootcamp, followed by advanced workshops that brought attention to the geographical diversity of these dance forms, and gave participants a deeper understanding of the forms. A Salsa Fusion workshop showed how one can blend traditional, Cuban and modern styles of the dance. There was also a rumba workshop that showcased the different styles of the dance from the Cuban Yambú and Guaguancó, to the Colombian style.
Day 3, and KSW ended with a co-ord themed party, with people dancing away with partners and in groups. For hotelier Jagannath Marothia, who was attending a salsa festival for the first time, the entire thing was a lot of fun. “Kudos to Hitesh, Priyam and the entire team for organising this so meticulously after the COVID hiatus!” he said.
Jagannath Marothia (left) at a dance party at KSW
“It was a crazy three days of beautiful dances, beautiful energy and beautiful people. Watch out for KSW 2024!” signed off Priyam and Hitesh, founders of Kolkata Salsa Weekend.