Viva Latino Independence Carnival
The Gov, Saturday 8^th September 2018

Words by John Glennie

I have frequently seen Latin music / dance nights advertised at The Gov but never made the effort to have a look. Curiosity finally had the better of me!

The night, run by La Bomba, starts at 8:00 with DJ music then music intermingled with professional dance displays from 9:00 with the bands starting from 11:00. The night wraps up around 2:00am. I arrived at 8:40 and there were about 30 people there so was thinking it was going to be a non-event.

Luckily people started arriving in droves shortly before 9:00 and soon kicked off with a lesson in the basic steps of Bachata then a dance demonstration by some experts who are competing in up-coming state championships. By this time there were hundreds of happy dancers there of all ages.

The next couple of hours was a combination of dancing to the DJ’s Latin music, lessons in Salsa, demonstrations by Cuban dancers and more dancing. The dance floor was suddenly “invaded” by a team of La Bomba drummers (which had everyone dancing!) then a group of girls marched (or danced) onto the main floor clad in bright costumes and lots of feathers to treat the crowd to some amazing moves.

The bands took over the stage shortly after and the large crowd filled the dance floor. It was wonderful to see that, for those unfortunate ones who do not know the dance moves (me, for example!), there is always someone keen to spend the time to teach the basic steps.

I have been procrastinating for a long time to take up Latin dance lessons and Saturday has inspired me to follow that up. I strongly urge anyone who loves music and dancing to turn up at the next Latin night at The Gov. Don’t be worried if you don’t know the moves as there will be someone willing to help you. The night was thoroughly enjoyable and I learnt a few dance steps to give me the incentive to continue.