Weekends are hardly ever boring in Chennai any more. This time around, it’s the Latin Festival Madras. Five days, two cities and three venues of fun and dance starts today. Organised by Arun Srinivasan, founder and director of Salsa Madras, this is the third edition of the festival.
On Friday, September 23, at Surf Turf, Covelong Point Social Surf School, Kovalam, brunch with the instructors will be followed by a bachata session with Australian dancers Mitch and Ellicia. Party through the evening on the beach, and have an introductory surfing lesson before heading for the launch party at Drizzle Bar and Restaurant at Neelankarai.
The weekend will be a time of learning through workshops, bootcamps and fun sessions at Gateway Hotel IT Expressway. Sessions start at 10 a.m. and go on till 5 p.m. Saturday’s workshops include ladies styling, salsa, son cubano, beginner’s/refresher salsa, Kizomba refresher, Bachata and advanced/intermediate salsa. The day ends with shows, championships and a party.
Variations of kizomba and bachata, consla, acro jam and lifts and tricks will be covered on Sunday, September 25. An evening pool party at the hotel is followed by a Holi-themed party.
Artists who will be present include Alex Teodorescu (Romania), Azlan Mckechnie (Scotland), Dotty Ujszaszi (Hungary), Ellicia McDonald (Australia), Gupson Pierre (Canada), Katia Verreault (Canada), Mabel Kok (Malaysia), Mitch Bilic (Australia), Saori Watanabe (Japan) and Selvakumar (Malaysia).
A full festival pass, inclusive of lunch and dinner on all three days of the festival, costs Rs. 6,000. The Kizomba and Bachata bootcamps are Rs. 2,000 individually, and Rs. 3,000 for both. A day-long pass for the Covelong activities is Rs. 2,000. One-day passes for Saturday and Sunday are Rs. 3,000 each. For those who aren’t registering for the festival but would like to attend the parties, it’s Rs. 1,000 per event.
On September 26 and 27, take off on a mini vacation to Puducherry, for fun events and dancing organised in association with La Casita.
For details and tickets, visit www.latinfestivalmadras.in.
