One of many thousands of dancers worldwide who have caught the salsa bug, Mseka took it one step further when he approached top Latin music and dance promoter Albert Torres about hosting an international salsa festival in the Mother City. Torres runs festivals around the world 48 weekends of the year and hosts the World Latin Dance Championships on ESPN, which has a captive audience of over 200 million people. Mseka needed to convince him to dedicate one more weekend to South Africa.
They first met at the 2009 Hamburg Salsa Festival, finally deciding in 2011 to go ahead with their plans for the festival. "Albert asked about salsa in Africa in general and why there weren't big events happening here. I explained the challenges we face in distance - flights anywhere cost an arm and a leg," said Mseka.
Torres works to create unity through Latin music and dance. "No matter our age, location or background, we are all united by our common passion," he said.
"You're probably the last to realise that you have a jewel here. You're in Africa, where this music originated."
The Mzansi Cape Town Salsa Festival offers 42 workshops and three nights of amazing parties and performances presented by local and international instructors and DJs. Training will be across a range of styles including salsa on 1, salsa on 2, Cuban-style salsa, bachata, kizomba, Cape jazz, body movement and styling. Torres is big on cross-training and Mseka has incorporated instruction in contemporary dance by iKapa Dance Theatre, African dance by Bheki Ndlovu and belly dancing by Heavenly Shimmies. Torres's history of salsa seminar is virtually compulsory for attendees - they're an integral part of every workshop he's involved in.
The effort that has gone into organising this event cannot be underestimated and corporate sponsors with CSI budgets should sit up and take notice. Their support will be requested for this event next year. The spin-offs are clear for the local tourism industry and a festival of this nature deserves long-term financial backing.
In addition to a beginners' boot camp, by Aaron Cumpsty and Emma Wainwright, which incorporates eight hours of training for those who want to be dancing salsa by the end of the festival, Mseka has secured commitments from some of the best in their genre worldwide to attend this weekend. Look out for the now UK-based Marchant Birch, who returns to perform in Cape Town for the first time since 1999, and George Daniels who flies in from Norway. Then there's 15-times World Salsa and Latin Dance Champion Alien Ramirez, originally from Cuba; El Tiguere and Juliana from New York; Florida-based Jorge Burgos, Tanja Kensinger aka Ataca, and La Alemena from Island Touch; Yassin Mutati from East Africa; MamboCity's Robert and Jean White from the UK; Mark-Anthony Sheppard from the Ukraine Mambo Project; Shon Homenya from Ghana; and Troy Anthony and Brittney Vega from Houston, Texas.
For more information on the South African and foreign DJs and instructors, as well as booking detail, go to www.capetownsalsafestival.com
