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A brief history of latin dance festivals

The modern Latin Dance Festival (or Congress) format turned 25 years old recently, with the first ever salsa congress held in Puerto Rico in 1997, which Wikipedia says drew people from 19 different countries. Soon after in 1999, the Los Angeles Salsa Congress launched, gaining international attention and becoming the ‘gold standard’ for congress or dance festivals across the world.

Throughout the 2000s, congresses and dance festivals were popping up across all continents, with many drawing larger crowds every year. The format remained largely the same – 3-5 days of workshops, performances and social parties – although many events diversified their dance styles over time in a bid to widen their audience. As social media and internet marketing picked up through the early 2010s, competition to attract travelers to festivals grew intense, while headline artists/instructors found success and could sometimes travel from event-to-event.

End of the mega-congress?

After 2015 some major congresses were already struggling to maintain peak attendance. The market was clearly growing, although the term ‘congress’ was phased out for ‘dance festival’ in a bid to attract a wider audience. Increased competition meant some cities offered 2-3 events in a year and standing out was harder than ever. Some of the early events such as the LA Salsa Congress folded in 2019, as did the Sydney Latin Festival (previously Sydney Salsa Congress). Many of the typical ‘mega’ events were replaced by ones with narrower focus on 2 or 3 key dance styles.

Post-pandemic era

2019-2020 saw almost all dance festivals on hold through the pandemic, with some returning in smaller form in 2021. By 2022 the majority of major events have returned, and it seems global intererest is stronger than ever. Newer dancers who started at local events are starting to look further afield for ‘dance holidays’. So where are the biggest and best dance festivals in 2024?

Largest dance festivals by style

While size isn’t everything in choose a festival, there’s no doubting their appeal – dance floors filled with people from 10+ countries, and big-name artists/DJs keeping you entertained all weekend. If you’re looking for inspiration on some of the biggest and best festivals running currently, here’s a list to check out (arranged by dominant dance style, although most will offer 2-3 styles within one event):

Salsa

Even though some of the original salsa congresses no longer run (LA Salsa Congress, Sydney Salsa Congress), there are a number of salsa-heavy events happening across USA and Europe. Some have 20 years of history, while others like the recent Sydney Salsa Mambo convention are ‘reboots’ under a new brand.

Bachata

2008/2009 saw a surge of Bachata festivals forming around the world, with many still continuing today. San Francisco and Sydney are two of the pioneering festivals, while festivals like Summer Sensual Days and Benidorm have spun out of the success of salsa festivals in their cities.

Kizomba

2012 saw Kizomba festivals appear in Europe, spreading to USA, Australia and Asia a few years later. While the big crowds are always to be found in Europe, a big shout out to our very own AWAKE festival in Perth for growing into one of the biggest in Asia Pacific!

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