PARTY - 5th Hamburg Salsa Congress 2007

Hello,

finally the weather in Germany has turned around and instead of clammy and cold it was suddenly hot and humid. Just in time for the 5th Hamburg Salsa Congress, yeahaaahhh!

For the trip from Berlin to Hamburg I got a ride with one of my Berlin salsa friends (Javier). We were 4 salsero/as from Berlin and on our way to the congress we discussed the pro & con of people taping their own videos at congresses. You know the ones, who miss the workshops, shows and social dancing more or less because they keep starring onto the display of their cameras. Further the discussion went to explore the (dis)advantages of posting these clips on YouTube and/or iMambo.tv....we ended up agreeing that if it isn't done excessively video clips are very useful and fun to watch.
With so many things in life: the fine balance is the trick!

Javier dropped me off at Altona train station and I went to meet my sister. She happens to live there now and I hadn't seen her in many month, so staying with her and dancing at night at the congress seemed a perfect plan.
We enjoyed a lovely dinner together and chatted away until I made off to the first congress night and she made off to bed. ;-)

Now, the congress itself ... not sure why, but this congress felt odd at times. My friend Helen used this phrase first in her email to me after the congress, and though I cannot put my finger on the 'why', I agree.
In any case I am very glad I went because I had a blast. Lots of salsa acquaintances in attendance, mostly very good music, a satisfying dance floor and plenty of dancing.

The fact I enjoyed most was that the social dancing started around 9:30pm and lasted until at least 5:30am with plenty of groovy mambo / NY style music & Cha Cha. By having to deduct the show times it still gave me 5 - 6 hours of dancing. Nothing is so frustrating as being in full swing and then the music turns off at 3am sharp!
So with this quantity of dancing time I was very happy! Especially as I will join the workforce again in only 10 days and be stuck on a 'slave ship' (cruise ship) for 5 month (working 7 days a week).
And NO - against common believe it is not like being on vacations;
and NO - there is NO DANCING at all ... for 5 month.
Yes, my friend Winnie was quite right, during this congress I was on a mission: dance dance dance dance dance dance...until my feet almost fell off. I mended them by using my CROCS. After dancing so much, they truly felt like hands massaging my feet while walking in them: heavenly. Oh, talking of heavenly, I think the word 'crocs' stands actually for cloud-runner-on-clave-shoes! ;-)

The fact I enjoyed the least was that the shows on Saturday consisted almost entirely of 1, 1 1/2 or 2 years old routines. Not nice! It is July and some shows I saw last year at the Zurich Salsa congress and even there not for the first time......Friday was okay, Sunday was okay....but maybe I am just not enough into shows to be objective here...
However I was very happy to see some of my friends performing and it was a pleasure to support them by exhausting my vocal cords and hands... I really enjoyed some of the shows for their extra energy and for the vibe with which they connected to the audience. The stand up set up for the shows made it especially easy for some artists to make the audience go mad! One of my favorite ones were Randolph & his partner from 'Salsa Royale'. His stage attitude was impressive and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this extends to the social dancing attitude as well. Awesome!

Of course after having danced so much we dancers needed to sustain our bodies and eat & hydrate! The bakery in the nearby 'Dammtor' train station was once again our 'afterparty' location. German style bread roll sandwiches, pastries, tea & soft drinks disappeared quickly while we stayed rather long, chatting...flirting...comparing opinions about music, DJ's, shows and what not....

Between 7 and 8am most of us buggered off to get some sleep and chill as to be ready for the next night! Much too quickly the Monday morning arrived and with it the 'workforce' people who surreptitiously eyed us while getting their early morning coffee. ;-) I think they were not quite sure what to make of that 'dancers bunch'...more so as the staff of the bakery had put on a CD with Bachata & Salsa for us.

Last but not least is to mention the great live act we got this year!!!!! Usually I am not too fond of live bands as they ALWAYS play ENDLESS sets of songs to which even a very hardy social dancer gets worn out rather quickly. But who can complain when the live act is JIMMY BOSCH?!?! One of my favourite songs has been for some time 'Otra Opportunidad' and to my delight they played it! 'They' being not only Jimmy Bosch but the pretty good band 'Mercadonegro'!

Hmmm, I right now I cannot think of anything else to mention. To sum it up I could say:
I am glad I went !!! I hope the next (dance-less) 5 month will pass rather quickly !!! I look forward to see you at the few Salsa Conventions I'll be able to attend in January & February 2008 !!!

Yours,

Stef

the dancing nomad



Location:

5. Hamburg Salsa Congress
Congresscenter Hamburg
Train station Dammtor



Music by:

DJ Radi (Duesseldorf)
DJ El Mono (Zurich)
DJ Saber (Heidelberg)
DJ Dave (Muenster)
DJ Henry Knowles (NYC)
DJ Duste (Australien/Oslo)

Jimmy Bosch & Mercadonegro


Dancers:

Janine - Ulrike - Valesca - Ellen - Monika - Anke - Helen - Javier - Sandra - Charles - Franco - Lisandra - Martin - Susi - Eddie - Talal - Coco - Anna - Steffi - Super Mario - Christopher

Mitchell (DE) - Winny (CH) - Mando (DE) - Gilbert (AU) - Henry Knowles (US) - Brian (NL) - Randolph (NL) - Ludovic (FR) - Didier (FR) - Kurt (NL) - Bernard (NL) - John (NL) - Sander (NL) - Hicham - Kobs (UK) - Sascha (DE) - Paul (NL) - Sam (UK) - Victor (UK) - Kia (DE) - Mark Anthony (CA) - Ismael (US) - Javier (NL) - Shaan (UK)

..... and many more!!!!

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