Cebu SBKZ International Fest offers social dancing, exploration of Cordova

CEBU, Philippines — If you are looking to spend the week doing nothing but dance and socialize, look no further than the upcoming Cebu SBKZ International Festival taking place at the Solea Mactan Resort in Cordova from April 19-21,2024, as participants from all over the world will come to Cebu and meet fellow social dancers.

The festival’s name is based on the initials of the social dance types: Salsa, Bachata, Kizomba, and Zouk.

Throughout the four-day event, delegates will participate in various workshops and boot camps taught by internationally acclaimed dancers and DJs, socializing parties that include a grand gala night on April 20, and tourist exploration activities in the Municipality of Cordova.

Some of the international artists that will be coming to SBKZ are Alex Alberola and Ilona Koch from Spain who are masters of Bachata, South Korean duo Nari and Garion specializing in Mambo, Krin Bajough from Australia in salsa and mambo, Jean Goh from Singapore in Brazilian Zouk, Armando Torres-Paez from Cuba in Cuban salsa, DJ Papi Ruso in live DJ-ing and remixing, as well as Cebuano talents such as Barbie Alonzo in Kizomba, Aileen Henson in Pilates, and DJs Bella V and Lijla, to name a few.

Organized by the Cebu Salsa Club, founded by Mandaue City-based dancers Jilly Enriquez and John Monteith, this type of event isn’t completely new for the organization. It was initially called Cebu Beach Fiesta in 2015 before a slight name change to Cebu Beach Festival in 2018. A 2020 edition was supposed to occur before the COVID-19 pandemic forced its cancellation.

With its new name, the organizers decided to incorporate more tourist activities for its delegates to enjoy the venue’s offerings.

“When we had our first festival, the focus was merely to bring the artists here and teach the local [dance] community. Recently, with what happened over the past years, we had a sense of enlightenment. We thought that this isn’t just bringing them here to share their teachings, but we also want them to come and experience Cebu,” Enriquez said during a March 16 press conference at Solea.

“We chose Cebu because it’s a gateway to thousands of adventures [in the Philippines]. What we want to showcase to our international guests is to experience what we have to offer that isn’t just hospitality, but the sites as well,” added Monteith.

With the festival taking place in Cordova, organizers hope that SBKZ will boost the economy of the municipality with the presence of international guests coming from Malaysia, Japan, New Zealand, India, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy and 13 more countries expected to join.

Another crucial reason for holding an international dance festival in Cebu was to strengthen the local social dancing scene which has been one of the lifelong goals of the Cebu Salsa Club since its 2011 beginnings.

“When we started Cebu Salsa Club, we were told by our mentors that if we want to grow the community, we have to start teaching so people will know what it is all about. When we started to teach, our mentors suggested a festival, which would have a huge impact on the local community and signal other communities outside the country that there is a growing dancing scene in Cebu, which would signal for them to come and visit Cebu not just during SBKZ, but also the rest of the year,” Enriquez said.

Monteith further said, “We have seen how much it has grown over the years. Our first festival was supposed to have 50 people coming to Cebu, but we surpassed it. The second year, we were pushing a hundred. In the third year, we were expecting 150 people and almost 200 came. We saw the growth not only locally, but also internationally.”

Interested participants may purchase Cebu SBKZ International Festival passes from Cebu Salsa Club’s website (https://www.cebusalsaclub.com/), which include one-day or full three-day passes to its workshops and parties as well as separate tickets for its yacht parties. Other inquiries such as accommodation concerns may be messaged to the organizers through their website or Facebook page through Cebu SBKZ International Festival.