Salsa gets saucy
Colombia's Delirio turns up the heat in Bangkok next Tuesday
Latin America is represented at Bangkok’s 16th International Festival of Dance and Music by Colombia’s Delirio, which with the support the Colombian Embassy, brings to Thailand the intimate sensual combination of red-hot rhythms and the electrifying footwork of salsa.
Though the dance is of Puerto Rican origin, Santiagao de Cali in Colombia holds the title “world capital of salsa”, thanks to its sheer number of salsa schools, artists and famed dancers – and also because that’s where the World Salsa Festival is held.
It all began four decades ago, when the Colombian working class adopted the dance form, transforming it into a language by which they could express themselves in the streets after work each day.
In 2006 four women from Cali – Buenaventura, Eleonora Barberena, Liliana Ocampo and Angela Gallo – took the city’s salsa talent off the streets and onto the stage. Their performance, meeting a truly international standard, reflected this dance phenomenon the way it’s felt and lived in the neighbourhoods of Santiago de Cali, and across Colombia as a whole.
Talent is now drawn from four main salsa schools – the Compania Artistica Rucafe, Constelacion Latina, Nueva Dimension and La Fundacion Escuela de Baile Stilo y Sabor – and from the orchestra Cali Latino.
Delirio’s 150 dancers, who range in age from seven to 50, show off their heritage through dance that ignites the fantasy that is omnipresent in all forms of art. They also hope their shows present another side to a city long associated with drugs and murder.
Since its inception, Delirio has represented Colombia in countries across the world, with many of its dancers winning international competitions. They recently accompanied Colombia’s president on his official visit to South Korea.
Their new show, “Delirium: A Visual and Sound Universe from Cali, Colombia”, is an intense display of the magic of salsa and the people of that country by many award-winning dancers.
Bangkok’s 16th International Festival of Dance and Music is supported by Bangkok Bank, Crown Property Bureau, BMW, B Grimm, Bangkok Hospital, Dusit Thani Bangkok, Indorama Ventures, Nation Multimedia, Beiersdorf, PTT Group, Singha Corp, Thai Airways, Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Ministry of Culture.
GET A MOVE ON
- Delirio performs at 7.30pm on Tuesdayat the Thailand Cultural Centre.
- Tickets cost Bt800 to Bt2,000 at ThaiTicketMajor.
- Find out more at www.BangkokFestivals.com.
