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Abu Dhabi, Capital of the United Arab Emirates, Le Royal Meridien, 23rd April 2009.

WATCH: The first of a trio of promises made to the world salsa dancers by Orson Brondo & JJ Chabaan, the organizers of the festival. Out from a busy working week, we were all eager to see the artist line-up in action. The huge Liwa ballroom filled up slowly and a familiar voice in an aussie accent announced there are 5 min to the beginning of what will prove to be a startling show.
JJ Chabaan appeared from the dark under a spotlight to welcome the international audience all the way from 4 corners of the world, from the USA to Malaysia.
10 min after Jaime Jesus took the mic, you already forgot your worries. With his humor and excitement, you can't but grab your chair and wait for the best to show up. Jaime Jesus and the swave Little Liz opened the festival's shows with a smash. The gracious Mary Grace, the fluid Alex and Kim from San Francisco, the sexy Amy from Australia, the spicy solo from Diana Sanchez and the passionate TC dance from Holland, set the benchmark for major festivals in our part of the world. Local artists also had their chance to prove their talent, James & Alex left the crowd in flames, while the abu dhabi students salseros team and mambo classico from Dubai blew us away with their sexy and perfect synch.

LEARN: The second of the trio concentrated on offering a rich set of workshops, salseros were pampered with styles and genres to choose from: cha cha, bachata, zouk, salsa, rhythmic aerobics and combos. A colorful palette of workshops filled 3 large rooms to the max. For a short break you could check out the salsa gear on display from international suppliers in the lobby.

DANCE: The 3rd promise Orson and JJ made is a great party. Enough DJs to offer diversity, a huge dance floor, lighting effects and not too crowded bars guaranteed a night filled with sweaty dancers. The artists left the best for last. The second set of shows on Friday night 24th, was even better. The crowd eager to get moving, everything was perfectly timed, not too many shows to bore you and not too little to offset the big-ticket. The DJs shared their best arrangements and the latest salsa tracks to get the now sophisticated and dressed up crowd on fire. Dj Matteo from Italy had reserved special tracks for our thirsty palate, joined up with DJUdia from Dubai who also played fresh sounds. Djzizou, writer of this review, will refrain to comment about himself. To check out more on him please visit djzizou.com

To the down side i can only find little to highlight. Maybe the ticket was a bit too pricey for some and the stage could be bigger given the immense space available and better marketing could have taken the festival to new heights, but what can you expect from a first time festival more than this? Hosted in an exquisite hotel, by a professional entertainer while dancing with the stars you can only feel satisfied that the organizers delivered what they promised. Short, well organized and heart pumping, the abu dhabi salsa scene is off to a new start. And what a sensational start this festival was.

Thank you for all organizers, teachers, promoters and dancers who flocked from afar to make abu dhabi the next destination for more festivals to come.

djzizou
Babbleonia Admin