Singapore salsa festival (salsaholics) July 26-28th

londongirl

londongirl

Son
Considering the Singapore salsa festival (salsaholics) July 26-28th - anyone been? anyone going? any good? http://www.salsaholics.sg/

I heard Singapore is good for salsa.... true? People dance on2 there??

I could potentially go on somewhere else the following week.... Japan (Osaka), S.Korea, ??
Baring in mind I speak/read zero of the asian languages and I'd be traveling alone (not that that really bothers me), where would people suggest - could be any country in the region - I'd like good dancing, ideally on2.

I've been to Tokyo before and loved it but never had a chance to dance there...but I'd still lean towards going somewhere new; I haven't been to Osaka...but is it good for a non-Japanese speaking holiday? People who've been here and Seoul, which is more interesting? Open to other ideas...any on2 salsa near a beach in the region?

Thx lg
 
londongirl said:
Considering the Singapore salsa festival (salsaholics) July 26-28th - anyone been? anyone going? any good? http://www.salsaholics.sg/

I heard Singapore is good for salsa.... true? People dance on2 there??

I could potentially go on somewhere else the following week.... Japan (Osaka), S.Korea, ??
Baring in mind I speak/read zero of the asian languages and I'd be traveling alone (not that that really bothers me), where would people suggest - could be any country in the region - I'd like good dancing, ideally on2.

I've been to Tokyo before and loved it but never had a chance to dance there...but I'd still lean towards going somewhere new; I haven't been to Osaka...but is it good for a non-Japanese speaking holiday? People who've been here and Seoul, which is more interesting? Open to other ideas...any on2 salsa near a beach in the region?

Thx lg
Click to expand...
LG, ANY of the suggested places would be great salsa vacations! I'm surprised - you're a great traveller, and you shouldn't let language become a barrier. A guidebook and common sense and you can travel anywhere. You will find many people who speak English in Seoul, although if you reallly want to see Korea proper, you HAVE to get out of Seoul - it's a totally different country outside of the capital. Korea also has sensational food.

Japan has a great deal more to see, especially in Kansai. Osaka is right next to Kyoto and Nara (very easy day trips), and when you include both the cities and the surrounding prefectures, there are weeks worth of superb sightseeing. I go back again and again and again. I would also go up to Nagahama on Lake Biwa (about an hour north of Kyoto) and I love Shirahama Beach in Wakayama Prefecture (about 2 hours by limited express train from JR Osaka). The sand is imported from Australia, and swimming there is lovely - very buoyant water. I used to go there for a day every year. July will also have many summer festivals in the temples.

However, the salsa is at a far higher level in Seoul than in Osaka, and the scene far bigger. At the end of the month, you will miss Osaka's signature Shine party. Both cities are predominantly on2. Depends on your priority - Seoul for salsa or Osaka for sightseeing.
 
Hi Londongirl, have you decided if you go and where to go afterwards? So, if you haven't decided yet, here are my impressions from my recent vacation in Korea:

I cannot compare with Japan, because I haven't been. I went to two very different salsa parties in Seoul, one was more of a Latin Party attended by lost of expats (mostly US soldiers, many Puerto Ricans among them), the other was a Korean Salsa Club, attended by mostly Koreans (there were maybe 5 Westerners among 200+ Koreans or so. The Korean Club was mostly on2, on a very high level and very technical. At both places I had a blast. Then, in Busan, I went to a Salsa Beach Festival. The dancers there were also on a very high level (on2).

Don't worry about the language - I didn't speak a single word of Korean when I went (now I can say "Hello" and "Thank you") In Seoul you can easily get around with English. If you travel outside Seoul fewer people speak English and their level of English is lower but I experienced the Koreans (especially outside Seoul) extremely helpful and friendly and they went waaaayyyy out of their way to help me out - even if it meant gathering 5 random people together to consult among themselves when I asked for directions and a 6th to translate their answers to me ;) . So don't worry about the language barrier. I found Seoul very interesting, a very modern metropolis, and I loved the countryside and smaller towns outside Seoul. Salsa is amazing in Seoul! I didn't get the chance to dance at a regular club in Busan, but according to what I saw at the festival, it must also be great. I actually liked Busan as a city better than Seoul.
 
Salsaholics Festival Singapore: Review

NB This was the first time this festival took place.

Parties
  • (Friday and Saturday night till around 2:30/3am, maybe later on Saturday but I was danced out)
  • Music was outstanding - closest to great NY nights I’ve experienced outside of NY; each DJ was different, yet they all worked, one was especially good but I was dancing so hard I didn’t get a chance to go ask his name.
  • Dancing, most people were on1, but there was enough good on2 to keep me happy.
  • It’s clear that whoever the local teachers are they care about the music and expressing the feel of the music, it shows in the way people dance. The majority of people, of course, are pretty pattern monkeys; but the minority that really felt the music, shined and used their bodies; and there were a handful of exceptional leaders.
  • Waaaay too many women, it was almost impossible to grab some guys, even going right onto the dance floor there might be two other women going for the same guy. Also, unlike most congresses, people seemed really keen to dance with their friends, maybe I’m just used to European ones where it feels like people try to dance with new people as much as possible, but here I felt if I didn’t ask I didn’t get to dance. On the whole though, if I asked guys who had already promised a friend, he did find me the next dance, which was really nice.
  • All the local dance schools co-operated so there was a big turn out, and good vibe. Plus some people came in from Malaysia/HK etc.
  • There were two free soft drinks per night. The bar queue was short. You could bring in your own water or whatever if you wanted.
  • Plenty of seats/tables round the edges. Large wooden dance floor which was fast, got slower towards the end of the night with the heat.
  • Too much taking of videos, creating the normal show-off kinda thing.
  • Only 3 shows a night! All from the visiting pros. Hurrah!!!!!
Workshops
  • On Saturday and Sunday (plus a spin workshop on Friday before the party)
  • There was a cheaper (190 singapore dollars) fullpass for people from overseas, so I got that.
  • Workshop schedule was well balanced between partnerwork, shines, bodymovement, styling and musicality plus Q&A session (which were a welcome break from the heat).
  • As always, I am a fan of programmes with a small number of top quality teachers that give several workshops each on each day.
  • Workshops started pretty late in the day so you could recover from the night before.
  • There was free food/snacks and frequent 30 minute breaks.
  • The rooms were large and had mirrors, and most teachers rotated well.
Other
  • I didn’t stay in the suggested hotel, but Singapore is very safe to walk around at night.
  • The workshop venue was easy to get to by bus; there was a free shuttle to the party on Saturday after the workshops.
Overall
  • Score: 4.5/5
  • Kudos to Tze and whoever else was involved in the really smooth organisation. Very enjoyable event.
Highly recommended to anyone at any level who is going to be in the area anyway/lives in the region.

But not worth the massive trip just for this event if you live on the other side of the world and are a hardcore/experienced on2 follower who gets frustrated having to chase after a small number of good dancers, unless you combine it with a week+ in Japan/Korea :D
 
Thanks for the review. I happened to be in Korea for work last weekend (I'm from the SF Bay Area), and really wanted to go to the Singapore festival, but unfortunately couldn't slip away. Next year maybe.

On the upside, I got to stay in Seoul and dance to 4-5am on Friday night at Naomi and Saturday night at Turn, which is almost like attending a mini-festival/congress without the workshops. :)
 
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