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Lisbon or Lisboa for me is one of the most beautiful city in the world!

That’s why I was so happy to accompany talented dancers and organizers “Dance and Travel” in Lisbon as a photographer.

This trip was so incredible not only because of the city, but also because of the perfect teacher-team and very cool participants. To met old friends and to knew the new ones were the best things what could happened to me this June 2019!

“Dance and Travel” contains 7 Days full of qualitative Workshops with international teachers, excursions in the region with professional guides, dance parties and dinners all together as team.

This year we could see so many new stunning places and pretty locations with delicious dining. We saw the highlights of Lisbon, Parque Natural de Sintra-Lascais, Palacio Nacional de Pena and Cabo da Roca. We were at the beach, put us out in the sun, danced our Rueda (also at another places) and also some of us were so crazy to swam, even though the water and air temperature were colder as it must be in summer.

The best part of the trips for me were Cabo da Roca and the concert of legendary “Havana de Primera”, probably the Number One Band of Cuba and nowadays is one of the famous bands of cuban music in the world. We all were glad to be there and to enjoy the brilliant timba, salsa cubana, especially the awesome and always recognizable voice and the trumpet of the main Man in the band, Alexander Abreu and his band members!

The last evening before flight home we had the “Gala-party” at our hotel, all participants had a dress code “Red Carpet”, our group was the most chic and glamour, and our Deejays – Peter & Luis made the best cuban music ever! Big thanks to our teachers: Sofia&Ariel, Michel, Luis&Jenni, who showed us a lot about basics & advanced cuban dancing, son, musicality, rumba cubana and woman&man styling. There fore it was more wonderfully to see that our dancers could used and presented almost everything what they learned at the workshops, at the last party.

I met so huge, cool people and had magnificent trip full of work-photography and so much fun together!

Thank you our dearest organizers – Jenni, Luis&Jule to made our tour so amazing and very special.

I cherish you all and hope to see you next summer in Lisbon or at another city with “Dance and Travel” ! <3

links: https://www.salsa-luisduarte.de/ ; https://www.facebook.com/danceandtravellisbon/

Lisbon 2019

…Let me tell you about one of my favourite trip to the festival, in Bordeaux’14… You would ask me why?!… Mm… Really?!… Actually, I don’t know, but may be you can find it here out… J

Some years ago I was lucky to met one of the best kizomba-teacher from France… It was at the party in Netherlands and I was dance also for the first time at that party Zouk… So there I heard about Salsa Kizoma Festival in Bordeaux… You must know, before that time in Bordeaux, I was never been in France… And it’s such a beautiful and awesome country with the own culture and people… I mean I heard at all, that French people should don’t like European people or especially, German and also are not really friendly to them and don’t want to speak another languages but French… It’s so *bullsh…* and wrong! …

… So, I was good prepared for my dance-trip to Bordeaux and gone with the train to Amsterdam and from there I flew with the small airplane to this little French city… The flight was short and I was the first from another three artists at the airport… After hours and delays of other planes we were took with the car to the hotels… Man… This warm air and sun and such a great weather gave me directly so much energy and I was excited for the all following days there! Before coming to the hotels, we saw the place, where the festival should be happened… It was not really small but also not too big or big enough to take many guests inside and to have fun together! … My small hotel, booked like a family hotel is a little bit old and really nice!

So my active-trip began already at this evening, as I wanted to go to the first show and party at Friday… The way was just a little bit complicated… But with the paper-map and help of some Bordeaux-walkers and without phone or www, I found it fast… J

It was so cool, that I had some two or three friends from Germany and Belgium and it was really amusing with them! The evening-performance was good, I took enough pictures and could also dance a little Cuban salsa – my favourite salsa style <3 and Semba… God, I love this Semba! It’s so magnificent & energizing! From that evening I become to met my French friends! …

Next day was already better, as I walked at the midday to take workshop-photos… On the way I should hold my hands out of my jeans-pockets to take the photos of antique small car, the rail and old houses with the nice green and colour garden and apple or orange trees around… For the minute I thought I lost my self, because I felt like in a fairy tail there… But some seconds later I was already at the venue! And the first what I saw were the grill-guys and I smelled this tasty aroma from the sausages and other healthy things or vegetables on the grill! My first thoughts there: I like it!! And inside all the people were smiling or doing joyfully their things like preparing for the workshops, eating, talking and so on! …I don’t know why, but I felt directly like at family… <3 “You know this kind of a big families, where you feel free, welcome and caring!” It was so wonderful to take pictures of the workshops during two days there, of the people and their concentrated faces or by joking and having much fun together! From that moment I knew, I’m @home there and I can trust the situation and people around!

The shows were gorgeous at the gala-party at Saturday! I saw so many cool and different styles and arts of it: from contemporary to semba, kizomba, salsa and mixed ones! The artists were some of the best and showed it successfully on the stage! I was touched and excited and from the party also, every teacher and artist danced with dance-students and other guests too! … So everybody was dancing with everybody and than the after-party took place in such a cool club – it was incredible: some of the artists sang a songs very professional like a really stars and showed and danced with us afro-animation!! – The coolest I ever seen at Salsa-World! 😉

The third day was also pretty and all the festival-days I felt grateful and so warm welcomed from the organizers, dancers and all people around… I met so many good people, friends, especially from France and Bordeaux… – I will never forget them and some of them I meet at another festivals or congresses all over the world! The organizers and organizer-team made such a great and special good work to plan and to manage this festival and to reach and invite so many kind and fantastic people together!! I was almost one from only three German guys there and without knowing French language (ok, I know a little bit espanol y italiano) I never sense alone, also not on the streets at the middle of the city at my free last day there! All the people and citizens were so friendly and communicative! At the end of my trip I was really happy to see the famous Napoleon-bridge and beautiful old city Bordeaux! …:)

PS Thank you KLM, that against annulled plane and another “funny” details, you took me at the time (second on second) trough the Lion to Amsterdam, where I could take my last train to go home! And yes, it was one of my favourite and also one of my joyful & extreme salsa-trip!

One of the big thanks goes to the organizer of this wonderful and for me special family dance-festival – “Bordeaux Open Salsa&Kizomba” – Doumb!! And Thanks to all Deejes, Dancers and kind and nice people I met in this small and beautiful city – Bordeaux!

Thank you guys for the reading, enjoy the photos behind!

PS Here is more information about other festivals of Doumb: http://suavedancefestival.fr/