Amga Gamboa shares basic dance steps

As more and more people are showing interest in Latin dance, new instructor-led dance lessons and Latin-themed dance parties are popping up across Shenzhen basically every day.

One such Latin dance event, organized by Cao Enqi and Chen Wenyan, was held at Fama Dance Studio on Feb. 1. Amga Gamboa, who has been dancing since he was a kid in Colombia, shared about the cultures of the salsa and bachata dances with participants.

“When I was a kid in Colombia, everyone danced salsa. We dance all our lives,” said Gamboa. He explained that salsa is a Latin dance with different regional subsets: Colombian, Cuban, a style from Los Angeles and a style from New York, to name a few.

“Every country has its own style. I always dance Colombian salsa: the styles called cali, pachanga and boogaloo. Salsa is the most popular type of music in Latin America, I believe, followed by bachata, merengue, and reguetón,” added Gamboa.

“I think the passionate motions of Latin dance are capable of directly expressing one’s feeling. The dancer translates the rhythm of the music into emotional meaning through their body movement,” said Chen, adding that nowadays Latin culture has gained popularity across the world.

Cao, who had lived in Spain for about ten years, disclosed that the event attracted several Hispanic residents, many of whom did not learn to dance in their home countries.

“But now that they're in China, they find that the dance serves as a good bridge for communication, so they want to join in. We have some British and American participants, but most of the attendees are Chinese as they are most interested in learning this open and passionate dance,” said Cao.

Zhan Man, one of the participants, enjoyed the event a lot, saying, “It provides us a good opportunity for socializing, entertainment, and exercise. Everyone is moving with the music.”

Now that Latin dance culture is spreading across the city, some dance lovers are sharing the culture with people for free. For example, there are two free Latin dance courses offered at the Civic Center every Sunday afternoon.

Alvaro Adrian Esquivel teaches basic salsa steps.

The first free session, called the Shenzhen Salsa Beginner Class, initiated by Patrice Guilemond from France and co-organized by Oswaldo Loor from Ecuador, starts at 2 p.m. and ends at 4 p.m. Dance enthusiasts including Alvaro Adrian Esquivel from Colombia and Daniel Canosa from Spain teach some basic steps of salsa, bachata and kizomba to citizens.

Daniel Canosa (R) shows basic salsa steps.

The second free session, called "Outdoor Cuban Salsa Party," starts at 4 p.m. right after the first one. A Chinese teacher teaches Rueda de Casino and also plays music for free-style salsa, bachata and kizomba dancing.

Dance lovers can also attend parties on Tuesdays and Sundays at Bang Club at Coco Park, a Wednesday party at Merci Club at Coco Park, and a Saturday party at Miss Nan near the Convention & Exhibition Center metro station. There is also a Friday night party, the venue for which is not set. Normally the parties begin at 9:30 p.m. and last till midnight.

越来越多的深圳人对拉美舞蹈产生兴趣，因此越来越多拉美舞蹈班和拉美舞派对在深圳举办。

2月1日，曹恩奇和陈文燕组织了一次拉美舞蹈文化分享活动。从小在哥伦比亚就跳舞的Amga Gamboa跟活动参与者分享了莎莎舞和巴恰塔舞文化。

“我小时候住在哥伦比亚，那里大家都跳莎莎舞。哥伦比亚人一辈子都跳舞。” Gamboa说道，他告诉我们，莎莎舞是一种拉美舞蹈，它包括不同风格：古巴莎莎舞、洛杉矶莎莎舞、纽约莎莎舞和哥伦比亚莎莎舞。

“每个国家都有自己的风格。我跳的基本是哥伦比亚莎莎舞，带一点卡利莎莎舞、泼蹡格舞和波加洛舞风格。莎莎舞音乐应该是拉美最受欢迎的音乐，之后是巴恰塔、梅伦格舞和雷鬼盾音乐。” Gamboa介绍说。

陈文燕认为，激情四溢的拉丁舞动作可以直接地表达出舞者的情感，“舞者的肢体语言也体现了音乐的旋律”。她进一步表示，拉美的文化现在已经风靡全球。

曹恩奇之前在西班牙待了十年时间。她向我们透露，这个活动吸引了很多拉美人，这些拉美人在自己国家的时候并不一定会去学这个舞蹈。

“但是来到中国，他们才会发现这个舞蹈是一个很好的沟通桥梁，所以他们也会参加，然后也有英国人，美国人也有，大部分是中国人，因为他们对这种奔放、激情的舞蹈很感兴趣。” 曹恩奇说道。

活动参与者占曼表示她很享受该舞蹈活动。“这个活动让单身男女有一个非常好的社交和娱乐健身的一个环境，大家如火如荼地在锻炼着、跟着音乐律动着。”

随着拉美舞文化在深圳越来越流行，一些舞蹈达人开始和大家免费分享这种文化。每个周日下午在市民中心就有两个免费拉美舞蹈课程。

Alvaro Adrian Esquivel 教大家跳莎莎舞基本步

第一堂课叫“深圳莎莎舞初学者班”，是由来自法国的Patrice Guilemond发起并由和来自厄瓜多尔的Oswaldo Loor共同组织的。这节课从周日下午2点开始，持续到4点。舞蹈达人小帅哥们包括来自哥伦比亚的Alvaro Adrian Esquivel和来自西班牙的Daniel Canosa会在这里跟大家分享莎莎舞、巴恰塔舞和基宗巴舞的基本步。

第二堂课是由一位中国老师教的户外古巴莎莎舞。从4点开始，他们会跳莎莎舞、巴恰塔舞和基宗巴舞。

深圳基本每晚都有拉美舞派对。比如周二和周日晚上在购物公园的Bang Club，周三晚上在购物公园的Merci Club，和周六晚上在会展中心的Miss Nan。周五晚上也有派对，但是现在地点不定，基本也是在购物公园和会展中心一带。一般情况下，这些舞会都是从晚上9：30开始到午夜。