Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 03/Sep 07:24

Latin dance fever in Cascadia on September 6 and 7

LATIN dancers from across Trinidad and Tobago will convene at Cascadia Hotel this weekend for two days of partying, competition, shows and intense workshops designed to perfect fundamentals and enhance techniques. The fourth annual Perfect 10 is being hosted by Latin Passion TT, which celebrated its 13th anniversary just over a month ago, The two-day event, from September 6-7, will feature competitions, including an amateur category, with over $20,000 in cash and prizes on offer. The St Ann's-based dance school is led by Sydney "Syd" Boissiere, his wife Caroline, and his mother Carol "Carrie" Boissiere. Perfect 10 will feature energetic salsa and bachata workshops hosted by champion dancers Alex Robles and Nachito Colón of the Iroko Dance Academy, Tampa, Florida. World-renowned couple Akram Bouchiba and Sara Paxolieta of Switzerland, are back in TT for the second year in a row to bring the vibe in kizomba. In an interview with Newsday on September 2, Syd said any person still on the fence about whether to attend the weekend's activities will regret it. He recalled the 2024 edition when not many people knew how good Akram and Sara were, and were hesitant about attending the workshops. Both have featured at dance festivals around the world including Welcome to the Jungle 2024 in Bali and other festivals in Abu Dhabi, Australia and Egypt. Some of their videos have amassed millions of views on Instagram. "What happened was some of them didn't do the weekend workshops last time. Last time, if you recall, we had a party on the Monday (a long weekend) and we had an additional workshop. And when people came to that additional workshop, they were like, 'Oh, my God.' They loved them so much. Some of them told us they were sorry they didn't come to the weekend." He said people who missed out in 2024 will get the opportunity to level-up their kizomba skills with the international couple. He said there should be no reservations about the salsa and bachata couple coming in as they are both champion dancers and renowned in the western hemisphere for their skills, suave and attention to detail. "Well, first off, they are part of Iroko Dance Company, which is like one of the best dance companies there are right now. So they're the best in terms of everything – best in terms of popularity, best in terms of teaching, and they're champion dancers. "When I say champion, I mean Iroko, both as a team, and the head of Iroko, which is Ernesto Nunez, they have been winning competitions left, right, and centre. So that's why I say they are part of a champion team as well. Alex and Nachito are part of the professional team that's winning all those competitions." He said the international instructors will be bringing tremendous energy and professional and fun tutelage, "When you finish a workshop with those guys, they will speak on your technique first and foremost, but they will also give you some really, really nice patterns that you can add to your repertoire when you go dancing. "When they speak to technique, that is just an all-encompassing, very broad field because when you talk technique, those guys will teach you everything. Your stepping action, your posture, your weight distribution, you name it." He said Latin Passion continues to play its role in pushing the popularity of Latin dancing by not only hosting quality events but by churning out more and more Latin dancers. "I am very, very proud of Latin Passion. I mean, mum is definitely the spearhead of the thing and full props to her. We as a team have done very well. In terms of all those years, we have basically groomed a lot of young Latin dancers who have gone on to bigger and better things. "Plus, you know, Perfect 10, as a kind of an offshoot of Latin Passion, has also done well because we started very, very small that first year. And we started, we just kept building and building. So it's starting to mushroom into not quite as big an event as like a Salsa Fiesta, but it is starting to get to those numbers a bit. For more info on tickets, visit lptt.org or call 761-7191 or 348-9188. The post Latin dance fever in Cascadia on September 6 and 7 appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.