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"Hong Kong Salsa Dancing Guide" Article by Fred Sherman!

9/9/2013

Hong Kong Salsa Dancing Guide
I may not be the world's best salsadancer, but I find that when traveling, if I seek out a salsa club or salsanight, I always have a great time and meet cool new people. Hong Kong is a vibrant and international city, and one of the fun things that brings peopletogether there is salsa dancing. Whether you're a local or expat, resident or tourist, there are some great places to hear hot salsa music and dance into the wee hours of the morning. For travelers with any kind of basic dance skills,salsa is a great way to experience a new city and meet fun locals.

Where to Dance in Hong Kong
I think Xperience (ground floor, Asia Orient Tower, 33Lockhart Road, Wanchai) is the best real salsa experience in Hong Kong. Thespace is a stylish bar, nightclub, and restaurant, but for the past seven years, on Friday and Sunday nights, it comes alive as a salsa dance club. The man who leads the party is the Godfather himself, Dj SalsaGodfather He's on the decks (and out on the dancefloor) from 10:30 p.m.-3 a.m. on Friday nights and 9 p.m.-2 a.m. on Sundays. I visited last year, and it really was one big party. I'm headed back to Hong Kong in a few weeks and have been practicing my salsa skills so I don't embarrass myself.

For Salsa Beginners
At Xperience, dancer "Salsaman" Franky Wong teaches beginners the salsa basics at 8:30 p.m. on Sundays. Then, the party begins at 9 p.m., and salsa students get to try out their newly learned moves. Although there will be some serious, almost professional dancers there, I found it a fun experience regardless of your skill level.

Great for Visitors
For visitors to Hong Kong, salsa dancing is a fun evening and presents a great opportunity to meet Hong Kong residents. Because Hong Kong is such an international city, filled with expats from allover the world, I find everyone is really friendly, even to strangers. The entire neighborhood around Xperience, Wanchai in Central, is one of the city's best party and nightlife areas, with multiple bars, restaurants, and clubs all in that small neighborhood.

Dining
A night of salsa dancing takes a lot of energy, and I recommend fueling up at the American Restaurant (20 Lockhart Road), directly opposite Xperience. Funny enough, this is a typical Chinese restaurant (a local landmark for more than 20 years), offering Chinese specialties, not American cuisine. They serve some of the best Peking roast duck in town.Reservations are necessary, and they have no website, no email -- call 852 25271000.

Written by Fred Sherman

Published on:
Source URL: http://voices.yahoo.com/hong-kong-salsa-dancing-guide-12296606.html?cat=16

(Sep 9, 2013)

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Spinning Latin Tunes in Hong Kong. Written by Maria Fung.

1/4/2013

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SPINNING LATIN TUNES IN HK
He calls himself DJ SalsaGodfather or DJ SGF. Born in France, Eric Charpentier discovered his love for music at the young age of 8. By the time he was 20 years old, his first performance as a DJ was at the famous Golf Drouot Club in Paris, which has hosted a number of famous guests including the Beatles, David Bowie and the Rolling Stones. Since then, DJ SGF has followed his destiny around the world in the 80s and 90s - Tunisia, Greece, Switzerland, Italy, Haiti, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Colombia, USA, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, New Caledonia, Cuba - and finally Hong Kong (phew!).

Indeed, it is no surprise how he earned his current stage name, thanks to more than 20 years of proud effort building his reputation in the latin music scene with his impressive and ever-expanding repertoire of latin music gathered over the years. His love for the Latin American culture is very evident in the way he shares life, passion and music at events and venues around the world, and he shows no signs of stopping.

Since 2006, DJ SGF has been spining Latin music for Fun4U Production which is a latin dance and party organizer in Hong Kong, and for Xperience, a club which owes part of their thanks to him for their honourable title as the "best salsa venue in Hong Kong" time and time again. Most of DJ SGF's rhythms and tunes hail from the Latin American countries he has been to, with focuses on Salsa, Mambo, Bachata, Merengue, Latin Jazz, Kizomba and Zouk - just to name a few. We did a short but fun interview him on his life in Hong Kong and as a DJ.

What got you interested in Latin music in the first place?
The blend of cultures and religions, colors and sounds. I love Latin music, his influences mixing Spanish, French, African ... If all the musics of the world, had to make an appointment, it would inevitably Latin America. (Specially for me, Cuba, Colombia, Dominican Republic...)

What kind of music styles you like the most?
Tropical Latin Music (Salsa, Dura, Clásica, Romántica, Mambo, Bachata, Merengue, Son, Timba) and Kizomba, Zouk, Latin Jazz, House, Electro and Hip Hop.

Who are the DJs or musicians that have impacted your music mixes?
My musical influences are from the rhythms of Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, New York, Africa. As a DJ, our greatest satisfaction comes from sharing our passion and our music with others. Music has no gender, no religion, no race and no borders.

What do you like best about your job so far? Which is the best event you have done DJ in?
The best part of my job is to bring happiness to people. It is very hard to single out one event as the best one, but so far for 2013, my best event has been working at Armani Prive, Hong Kong, where a beautiful rooftop and skyline was transformed into a wonderful latin party.

You have travelled to a lot of places and demonstrated your skills. Which countries have impressed you the most in terms of reception towards Latin music?
Outside of Latin America, Hong Kong has really impressed me.

Since you have lived in Latin America before, how do you find it and what can you recommend to those who are thinking of exploring or moving there?
After my first trip to Latin America. Back in France, I had only one desire: to return. Latin America, a magnificent heritage, incredible cultures, peoples welcoming. And as Colombians say: ''In Colombia, the only risk is wanting to stay''.

When and why did you decide to move to Hong Kong? What is the impression of the latin dance scene here?
I came to Hong Kong in 2000. I have no regrets, I love Hong Kong, I love Asia! The general standard of salsa dancing has improved over the years. We have salsa almost every night here, and our annual salsa festival has been growing yearly. Our dancers are some of the most open and friendly dancers in the world.

What are some of the challenges of living as a being an ambassador of latin music in HK?
The challenges of living in Hong Kong as a promoter of the Latin American culture, is to contribute in the opening of the Latin music to the Chinese culture.

What are some of the things you like to do in Hong Kong?
We have a great landscape, from the beach to the mountains, and a tremendous variety of local and international restaurants. I enjoy listening to music of course, relaxing on the beach, and tasting local delicacies as often as possible.

Your next course of plan after Hong Kong in 5 years time?
In 5 years, I think I would still be in Hong Kong and happy to continue spinning my music. I also hope we have more dancers and promoters from South America, Europe, Australia and USA to create stronger bonds with Asia.

If you were not a DJ, what would you do?
Be a traveller or discoverer.

Written by Maria Fung
http://www.vidadelatinos.com

Published on Vida De Latinos - Connecting You to Latin America (http://www.vidadelatinos.com)

Source URL: http://www.vidadelatinos.com/article/spinning-latin-tunes-hk

(01 April 2013)

Photo by ALI G. www.aligstudios.com

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"A Fun Night Out in Hong Kong" Article by Fred Sherman!

11/1/2013

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Cool Local Places Where Travelers Can Experience the Fun Side of Hong Kong

One of my favorite parts of international travel is meeting new people. I just returned from an amazing trip to Asia and although I saw a lot of incredible things, it's the people I met that really made it a special experience. My first night there was spent in Hong Kong in a whirlwind of food, drink and fun, guided by a group of locals who are now my friends.

My traveling companion had a friend in Hong Kong and as our first stop on a trip to also include Cambodia and Vietnam, we made arrangements to meet at a local restaurant a few minutes from our hotel. Aside from my friend and myself, she arranged to have three or four of her friends also join us. My travel partner's flights were delayed, so I ventured out alone to meet the group, with him scheduled to arrive later that night. Here's a recap of where we went and what we did. All these places are guaranteed to provide a good time, and will expose travelers to locals and expats, not other tourists.

Dinner
We started the evening at a cool Moroccan restaurant called Kasbah (4-8 Arbuthnot Road, Central) in Hong Kong's Central / Lan Kwai Fong neighborhood. The restaurant is just a few blocks away from trendy Hollywood Road, filled in this area with bars, nightclubs and restaurants. Kasbah featured authentic Moroccan cuisine and we enjoyed hot and cool mezze as an appetizer. The main course was amazing, a selection of shish kabobs with chicken, beef and spicy lamb. My favorite was the spicy lamb. The atmosphere was inviting and it was a great place to get to know my new friends.

Dancing
After dinner, we walked down the big staircase to one of the city's hottest new restaurants and clubs, tivo (ground floor, 43 - 55 Wyndham Street, Central) where they were having salsa night with local legend Dj SalsaGodfather We had some drinks and danced to some great salsa music. Amateurs beware, Hong Kong is salsa-crazy and there are some amazing dancers out there. The bar's name, "tivo" is short for "apertivo", Italian for a light before-meal drink. Aside from featuring some great salsa, tivo is also a modern Italian restaurant serving lunch and dinner.

More drinks
By this time, around 11 PM, my friend was finally scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong, so we returned to my hotel, the Island Shangri-La and its Lobster Bar and Grill (Pacific Place, Supreme Court Road, Central) Aside from being an amazing seafood restaurant, the Lobster Bar and Grill has a great bar and bar scene, an outdoor patio and cool music. We had some specialty cocktails and enjoyed the music, and were finally joined by my friend who arrived after 20-plus hours of flying from the US. With their great drinks and sumptuous chairs and couches, the Lobster Bar was a comfortable way to welcome him to Hong Kong.

Live music and dancing
After the final member of our group had arrived, we decided to head out to Central's Wanchai neighborhood for some late night fun. Once the city's Red Light District, the area, while still a bit dodgy, is home to some great music clubs. We went to a place called Dusk till Dawn (76 Jaffe Road, Wanchai) which featured a series of really good cover bands. They had the whole bar dancing and singing along as they played songs from Coldplay, Psy, Lenny Kravitz and other current and classic hits. Drinks were cheap and we left around 3 AM with everyone still rocking out inside. I also have to mention how great the service was here, they really made us feel welcome.

Late-night food
After a long night of great music, we made our way to Pizza Bar (53-55 Lockhart Road, Wanchai), a little place in a basement location in Wanchai. They had a big selection of Italian and Chinese food, along with cold beer at 4 AM. They have some unique pizzas like steak and seafood, along with flat screen TVs showing whatever soccer match is playing.

Written by Fred Sherman

Published on:
Source URL:
http://voices.yahoo.com/a-fun-night-out-hong-kong-11953864.html?cat=16
(Jan 11, 2013)

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"Hong Kong Salsa Dancing Guide" Article by Fred Sherman!

Spinning Latin Tunes in Hong Kong. Written by Maria Fung.

"A Fun Night Out in Hong Kong" Article by Fred Sherman!

Dj SGF

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