FLAGSTAFF — The Grand Canyon Salsa Festival 2014, featuring workshops and dance competitions, will be held Sept. 4-7 in Flagstaff.
The event seeks to facilitate education, awareness, and mutual sharing and bring together dance talents from the local, national and international performance and competition circuits, organizers reported in a media release.
The event is the largest Latin dance festival in Flagstaff that involves local community and hosts attendees from all over the world.
The event starts the morning of Thursday, Sept. 4 with a Grand Canyon National Park tour featuring a picnic and dancing with the canyon as the backdrop.
Festival workshops with social dances and shows will then take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 1175 W. Route 66, Flagstaff.
“Our vision is to promote the preservation and education of Latin dances and foster a sense of community by organizing an event that welcomes the general public,” Kati Pantsosnik, co-director, stated in the release. “Additionally we would like to bring top national and regional talent in Latin dance to our community to teach, perform; creating a warm intimate environment that promotes learning and bonding among attendees, guest instructors, performers and local and regional community members.”
Headlining instructors Nery Garcia and Giana Montoya of Fort Myers, FL will be the main attraction. They are are Youtube sensations and the number one source for online dance instruction with globalmambo.com, the most visited dance instruction site on the web, organizers reported. In addition to the them teachers from as far as Brazil and New York City will also be attending to provide the highest caliber in instruction.
The festival will offer something for every dancer in love with Latin music of all skill levels from beginner to advanced with two to three simultaneous workshops every hour for six hours a day for three days
Attendees will have the opportunity to learn Salsa, Bachata, Cha Cha, Zouk, Kizomba, Samba, Pachanga, Boogaloo and other dances.
Every night Thursday to Sunday everyone will have the chance to come see some of the best dancers in the region and the world perform on a nightly basis and get out on the floor themselves till the early hours.
2014 Grand Canyon Salsa Festival is supported by BBB Revenues from the City of Flagstaff and Flagstaff Arts Council. Sponsors include Flagstaff Latin Dance Collective, Arizona Shuttle, Mix Restaurant, NAU Latin American Studies Program, DoubleTree by Hilton, Jim’s Total Body Fitness LLC and Arizona Dance Coalition.
Tickets are available to purchase through the festivals website www.grandcanyonsalsafestival.com