Beginning this saturday, Mumbaikars get the chance to let their feet do the talking, with Salsa king Kaytee Namgyal's 1st Bachata Festival in India kicking off.

Beginning this saturday, Mumbaikars get the chance to let their feet do the talking, with Salsa king Kaytee Namgyal's 1st Bachata Festival in India kicking off. And you don't have to be a professional dancer to drop in at a rocking party or performance

"It's very sensual; people love it because it's easier than Salsa and it's catching the imagination of people across the globe," is how Kaytee Namgyal, India's foremost Salsa exponent and founder of Salsa India chooses to describe Bachata, a vibrant dance form from the Salsa family with roots that go back to the Caribbean.

Come Saturday, Mumbai will host the first ever Bachata Festival that includes workshops with some of the best artists (see box), classes for beginners and pros, parties and performances. "Participants have the chance to interact with experts, learn from them and soak in perspectives that come from choreographers and dancers from across the globe. You get the inside story about what dance means to these artists. And obviously, it's a great place to showcase talent," Kaytee says.

While the workshops will be held during the day, the performances and parties kick off at sundown. Clear about not wanting to dilute quality over quantity, the workshops are open to 80-90 participants, while the parties will host about 400 guests. The highlight? A competition on February 14. Here, the crowds get to be judge and pick the best dancing couple for the night. Winners will bag the chance to participate at the prestigious Turkey Salsa Fest.u00a0

He's created K-Style dancing
The perfectionist that he is, Kaytee lays tremendous emphasis on technique, attitude and interpretation of the music, which he calls his unique style "K-Style". This style focuses on musicality, movement and dancing through the body, mind and soul. He didn't have a problem getting down the best Bachata dancers from around the world. "My friends Vanessa (Diaz), Kirsten (Miller) and several others were coming down for a holiday anyway. I said, instead of partying the Valentine's Day weekend away, why not do a dance festival."

Get your pass: A full pass entitles you to attend workshops, shows and parties. Rs 4,000 after February 7,
Rs 1,000 per workshop at the Door, students with College IDs get 15% off on the Full Pass. Performances will be held at 11 pm on both days.
1st Bachata Festival, Zenzi Mills, Todi Mills Compound. On February 13 and 14. Call 9769772572 / 9833372572 or log on to https://www.salsa-india.com/ for details

Guide to the 1st bachata festival

Catch these dancers: Kaytee Namgyal (India), Vanessa Diaz (France), Kirsten Miller (USA), Gupson (Singapore), Dom & Marion (France), Tajana & Group (Germany), Ash & Avan, Santosh & Suman, Vineet & Sahiba, Madan (India), James (UK), Dorsai, (Dubai) and Kosar (Iran).

Dancing their heads off: Kaytee now dances with Vanessa Diaz, a professional dancer from Paris, and they have been booked for several International Congresses already. In fact, they are booked every month till March 2011.

Who is Kaytee?
Having organised the Kenya Salsa Fest, Turkey Salsa Congress and the Salsa Cruise, Asia, this Salsa dancer from Sikkim has many firsts to his name. He's also been the biggest promoter for the Berlin Salsa Fest. In India too, he organises five Salsa fests annually, across Mumbai, Delhi and Goa.