Nicolas Tapia and Antonela Chaya are Arrebato Caleño‘s teachers of bachata and salsa. They are a couple from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who came to Cali to learn Cali style salsa and stayed to live their dream to the fullest – travel and dance for the rest of their lives. (more…)
Tag: Cali
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ALL-FEMALE SALSA GROUP D’CACHE
D’Cache is one of the very few, all-female salsa groups in Colombia. Traditionally, salsa music is played by men, but these women defeat stereotypes by playing and singing melodies and rhythms that people are used to hearing only from men. In November 2017, D’Cache performed at Arrebato Caleño. Here’s a video featuring not only the group, but also dancers Antonela Chaya, Norbey “Kanelo” Gil, Andrés Molina and myself. (more…)
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GRAN FIESTA 2017 OF ARREBATO CALEÑO
On the 25th of November 2017, there was the Gran Fiesta de Fin de Año of Arrebato Caleño, a dance school I volunteered at for 1,5 months in Cali, Colombia. Here’s a video of this party, organized by the owner of the school each year. The video is not the best quality ever, but it’s a nice memory of my first time of dancing for an audience after 20 years. (more…)
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ANDRÉS MOLINA – THE ABSOLUTE MASTER OF CALI SALSA STEPS
If someone can be called a master of Cali style salsa steps, it’s Andrés Molina (Andrés Felipe Molina Gomez). Looking at him, it seems as though his feet were moving on their own. And if you’d ever want to learn how to move your feet in Cali, here’s the person to turn to! (more…)
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CALI STYLE SALSA CLASS IN LA TOPA TOLONDRA
Me and a teacher of Arrebato Caleño, Andrés Molina, gave a class of Cali style salsa in La Topa Tolondra, on the 4th of December 2017. The aim of the class was to teach the basic hip movement of Cali style salsa and some of its fundamental steps. Here you go with a very short video, including a Miguel Ferrerossa and some social dance from the place which can no doubt be called my favorite salsa club in the world. (more…)
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NORBEY “KANELO” GIL – TRUE ICON OF OLD SCHOOL CALI STYLE SALSA
Born and raised in Cali, Norbey “Kanelo” Gil Mosquera (46) is the main teacher of Arrebato Caleño. He’s also the man who this year won the 1st prize for non-professional solo dancers at the World Salsa Festival (Festival Mundial de la Salsa). He has been dancing for 36 years and is a true icon of old school Cali style salsa. (more…)
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PIERRE AND PATRICIA LEARNING SALSA IN ARREBATO CALEÑO
Arrebato Caleño, the dance school where I live at the moment, is a true encounter of cultures. It’s not just a typical dance school but also a home for people from all over the world. At the moment there are residents from Guatemala, Canada, The Netherlands, Moldova, France and Colombia, and also the students come from all around the globe. Today, I interviewed the French-Colombian couple Pierre and Patricia. (more…)
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EDGAR AND YOLANDA – THE ROYALS OF BOLERO
The month of October 2017 has been busy for many non-professional dancers in Cali, Colombia. It’s the month of the auditions for the Salsódromo – the country’s biggest salsa parade, taking place each year on the 25th of December. This year the theme of the parade are the 60s and 70s, and the prevailing dances are son and bolero. In Arrebato Caleño, we had the honor to be taught these dances by Edgar and Yolanda – the King and Queen of Bolero (Los Reyes Del Bolero). (more…)