How salsa is winning hearts on KL’s dance floors

Free Malaysia Today

This Latin dance is drawing Malaysians from all walks of life into a shared space of movement, music and community.   A special report by Mariana Valentina Tabares Jaramillo, an undergraduate at City, St George’s, University of London, and an intern at FMT.   Written by: Mariana Valentina & Dinesh Kumar Maganathan  Shot by: Hizami Safri  Presented by: Mariana Valentina  Edited by: Andrea Edmonds   Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2025/07/09/how-salsa-is-winning-hearts-on-kls-dance-floors   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTLifestyle #SalsaInKL #Dance

Transcript

00:00From social clubs to weekend workshops, Salsa dancing is increasingly becoming a staple of

00:15KL's urban culture. What began as a niche scene is now drawing a diverse crowd, eager to move,

00:22connect and try something different. But what's making room for a Latin style like Salsa? We

00:29spoke with local instructors to find out what's pulling more Malaysians into the spin and spice

00:34of this Latin rhythm. Vishnu Varnadhan, a Salsa dancer and instructor with over 15 years of

00:43experience is all too familiar with the rhythm and the community of Salsa. His preferred style,

00:48Cuban Salsa, is more than just a dance. It's a vibrant expression shaped by Afro-Cuban,

00:54Puerto Rican and jazz influences, rich in culture and full of contagious energy.

01:01There's something different than what I thought. Because it's a partner work and you can show a lot

01:10of skills and something fun. Even though I can dance some other dance, but this is something you need to

01:20learn like a very basic to understand the body transfer weight, counting, musicality.

01:29For Sharon and Fu, who has been dancing to the beats of Salsa for the past 10 years,

01:34it's a way to unwind after work, stay active and connect with others. What began as a shared love

01:41for Salsa turned into something more when she met her husband, Andrew Suresh Kumar, on the dance floor.

01:47They are the founding members of Red Art at the Park KL.

01:52I think it's a happy place for a lot of people. For me personally,

02:00it's an avenue for me to really stress after work. So I forget about my 9 to 5 job,

02:07I listen to some music that I like, meet some people that are my happy friends basically.

02:13In Malaysia, Salsa can be traced back to the mid 90s underground dancing in KL,

02:22where clubs and informal socials quietly nurtured the rhythm.

02:27By the mid 2000s, a new wave of passionate dancers and choreographers helped turn Salsa into

02:32a growing movement across the city.

02:34This was the case for Francis Nantan, a co-founder of the group Royal Rebels. After the pandemic made

02:44solo workouts dull and lonely, he craved connection and fun. Salsa gave him all that and more.

02:50I wouldn't even consider myself a dancer. I'm more like just a newbie trying to learn the steps.

02:59And I do it more for the exercise and the interaction of people. You come in as a newbie

03:05and almost immediately you're able to dance and join together in the community and dance together.

03:11With weekly socials lighting up KL hotspots like Ceylon House and Havana and festivals popping up

03:18across Penang and Kota Kinabalu, the scene keeps growing full of fun and energy.

03:26The momentum doesn't stop there. Salsa festivals like Afro-Latin Festival Asia and the Penang Salsa

03:33Festival bring together dancers from across the country and beyond, showcasing just how much this

03:39scene has grown. From partner dancing to group styles like Real de Casino, more and more studios

03:46are emerging and the energy shows no signs of slowing down. Engaging them through WhatsApp groups and

03:54this way, piquing their interest, having community meetups, talking about, you know, having talks about

04:01how you can do better, like giving them that encouragement, that's the way we kind of grow the community.

04:06My hope is that it will expand more. Even now we're recruiting more people to dance with us.

04:13So to be one of the most popular dancing scene in Malaysia, that's my hope.

04:22Rooted in joy and connection, Salsa brings more than just dance steps. It embodies the passion of a culture

04:29culture and the power to unite people with that same passion has found new roadbloom right here in Malaysia.

04:36Mariana Valentina, Terence Toh and Dinesh Kuma-Maganathan, FMT.

04:53See you guys.

05:00Hi, guys.

05:01Me too.

05:02TV

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