Malaysian Salsa Festival, July 09

I literally can't feel my legs. It's not surprising after 4 nights and 5 days of continous dancing. The Malaysian Dance Festival is the first holiday where I have actually lost weight. The festival is made up of different dance workshops, performances by professional artists and parties that go on into the early hours of the morning in a beautiful resort on the East coast of Malaysia. Sleep not included.

Our group, Mambo Clasico (http://www.facebook.com/MamboClasicoDubai?ref=ts) debuted with it's first international perfromance with 'Pepe's Mimes'. 10 people dancing complicated choreography "together" is no easy feat ('scuse the pun). After 11 months of practising, I think we pretty much nailed it. It was a huge moment both individually and as a group to walk off that stage knowing that we had completed one of our goals: to dance on an international stage. The hours of practice, the sore muscles, and the lack of social life all were forgotton in that moment.

Once we had performed, I could forget all the nerves and just enjoy the event. Mornings were spent by the pool, sleeping, sunbathing and playing pool volleyball and afternoons were spent in different workshops. One of my favourites was run by a Portugese couple - Vanda and Nuno. Incredibly talented and great teachers, their workshops were fun and easy to follow. Their performances were simply inspiring and amazing to watch.

As well as salsa workshops, you could also learn more about dancing on 2, shines, spins, tango, body movement and something I hadn't come across before 'Zouk'. Zouk is a dance similar to bachata. The steps are reasonably simple to follow. Watching the professionals do it, you will see a lot of head movement and a nod towards contemporary style. While I'm still a salsa lover at heart, it's a beautiful dance to watch and very intimate.

This was my second festival that I had attended and probably my favourite of the two. The beautiful setting created a relaxed atmosphere and with approximately 250 people, you were able to meet and get to know different dancers without feeling 'lost'. There was also lots of variety within the shows and workshops which has inspired me to try and convince my man to learn tango with me. Combining salsa and travelling is the ultimate; my only regret is that I didn't extend my stay in Malaysia to see more of the country.