November is here and so is the Exchange!!!

We had our November Social on November 1st, ushering the eleventh month of the year and realized that this dance has been going on since 2011. What's exciting is that the attendance has grown to the point where we've been able to hold two dances a month and still sustain the level of attendance. That means growth which means more kizomba dancers.

I just got back from Nicaragua and had the privilege of teaching at their Salsa Congress, performing alongside some internationally reknowne salsa and bachata artists. What a trip! So intimidating and exciting and gratifying all at once. (Read more here and see some pictures here.) Not to mention all those hungry mosquitos that fed off my newbie blood! All for a good cause.

I'm excited for the Kizomba Seattle Exchange and hope that the weekend will bring out even more dancers to share in the kizomba love. Registrations are starting to come in and I am finalizing the details about the dance.

November also heralds Thanksgiving and the Seattle Salsa Congress while will also have kizomba for the second year in a row. This time Ivo and Shani (from LA) will be back and Isaias will be providing the music for bachata and kizomba so there will be much more kizomba to dance to this year compared to last year.

Kizomba Fundamentals is at the halfway point this week and already the folks in class have come out to dance (hurrah!). We'll be taking a hiatus from a class series for Kizomba after Thanksgiving and picking it up again in 2014.

I'm sure there will be more news to share here and there but in the meantime, stay warm as the winter chill starts to come into the air and always - happy dancing!

October ... Fall into Kizomba

Its time for the changing seasons from summer's warm, sunny days to cool, crisp one's of the fall. The leaves are already starting to change and we're still experiencing a few Indian summers.

I had the pleasure of teaching kizomba at the Seattle Fusion Festival. It was great fun to show this dance to a different dance community and even hear some immediate feedback about how the groundedness of kizomba's walk can help to improve anyone's dance. If you're even remotely curious about what Fusion is - check out the Seattle Fusion Experiment and the dances they have at Om Culture Studio every Sunday evening. 

In the meantime - here's what's up in Seattle for the short term:

• Monday Practica's continue: make sure to check facebook and the event page for the latest information.
• Monday night at Cellar's with DJ Nick playing Salsa, Bachata, Kizomba
• Kizomba 2 series just concluded last week and we'll be starting a Kizomba Fundamentals Series on October 23 (Wednesday nights from 7:00pm - 8:00pm)
• Kizomba Body Movement (Individual exercises and partner work) will be taught on Thursday October 17, 2013 from 7pm to 8pm at the Century Ballroom. 

I'm excited to be going to Nicaragua in 4 days with a few of our crew to share Kizomba at their salsa congress (who-hoo!). There are also a few folks headed to the Tri-Cities this weekend as well as to San Francisco for their festival at the end of October.

November brings some exciting events as well:

• First Friday Kizomba Dance at the Century Ballroom to start the month. We have over 60 people attend last month, let's see if we can keep things going through the year into the next!
• Kizomba Seattle Exchange November 15-17, 2013: the first ever (and hopefully annual or more) event of this kind. Please spread the word and join in our effort to raise funds for the event through kickstarter.
• We will have a stronger presence at the Seattle Salsa Congress this year with a Bachata Kizomba room that will be playing bachata and kizomba all night long. 

I hope I haven't missed anything - if I have please let me know and I'll make the corrections.
In the meantime - HUGS! and happy dancing. 

Congratulations and Upcoming Events

Our Kizomba Community is still growing and one of the best things about that is the fact that because our numbers are smaller, we can get to know each other better.

I wanted to take a few minutes to celebrate the birth of Dennis' and Oriel's lovely little girl Suletu. She's a few days early and loved and welcomed all the same. Congrats!!

I'm excited to meet her in person - she's really going to be a spoiled kid in our community.


UPCOMING HAPPENINGS:
We just turned the corner on a new month and another well attended Kizomba Social on Friday Sept. 6,. 2013. What's next?

Monday Night Practice is building up its own momentum (hooray!) If you're interested in practicing with a small group, make sure that you check out the facebook event on the Kizomba Seattle facebook page.

Cellar's on Monday nights plays a mix of salsa, bachata and kizomba.

Kizomba 2 Class Series is starting at the Century Ballroom Thursdays 9/12/13 to 10/10/13. Check it out and register through www.centuryballroom.com. This series is on Thursdays 8:30 - 9:30 in West Hall at the Century Ballroom.

Kizomba Dance at the Century Ballroom on Sept. 21, 2013: We get another all night kizomba dance this month! For those of you that love to salsa too, this is the same weekend as the All Vinyl Salsa Night and its going to be a blast!! Our very own Isaias Chammoro will be providing the music and he'll be putting in a little bit of bachata to the mix.

Kizomba is also being taught at Salsa Con Todo Studios - please check out their website for more information. They also have a Friday Night social that plays kizomba in the mix with other music.

Jay Senior and Frances Tee will be teaching Kizomba at the Seattle Fusion Festival coming up from October 5 - 6, 2013. We're so excited. And on top of that, we'll be heading off to Nicaragua to teach kizomba at the Nicaragua Salsa Festival thanks to Isaias Chammoro for extending the invitation and giving us a chance to help spread the kizomba love outside the US.

SAVE THE DATE: The big event is our first ever Kizomba Seattle Exchange with 3 days of dancing. Oscar BA and DJ Guelas will be joining us along with other local DJ's at several local venues, Check out the page for the latest news. Registration will be up on the site by September.

Lots to look forward to ...
HUGS and Happy dancing as always !