Aimi and I had the incredible fortune to see them live as well as attend some of their classes at the 10th anniversary of the Ruedafestival Stuttgart from 17th to 29th July. Their performances were mesmerising to watch and far above anything we had witnessed to date and the privilege of being taught by them directly in some of their classes was a simply unforgettable experience.
The dancers we saw that weekend included, Yisel Cuba, Luis Pineda de los Santos, Ailen Robinson, Gustavo Salas, Clara Nieto, Ronald Fisher and Yurisley Rodriguez as well Yanek Revilla himself who is nothing short of a living legend having won the world championship in both the couple and the Rueda category.
Sabor DKY (pronounced “Sabor de Calle”) aka Salseros DKY was first performing under the name Casino.com winning the first place of the 2004 Bailar Casino competition and the 2004 and 2006 competitions of Metamoroson. They continued to win many other prices throughout the course of their dance career and became increasingly well known internationally from 2009 onwards performing at some of the biggest salsa festivals in the world. For many years Karelia Despaigne, another world renowned Cuban dancer, was a huge influence on Sabor DKY working with Yanek Revilla before focusing on her group Tierra Kaliente.
Dancers of Sabor DKY are true masters of many Cuban dances including son, cha cha cha, rumba, orisha and reggaeton which all have a huge influence on their freestyle dances as well as their choreographies. They can be seen in the official music video “El Lunar” by Septeto Santiaguero as well as a plethora of their own videos that have been published online.
Sabor DKY are among the few Cuban dancers that perform internationally, so if you get the chance to see them live do not miss the chance! Their Ruedas are truly of a world class quality and anyone who is enthusiastic about Rueda de Casino or in fact Cuban dances in general will be amazed by their shows. It is a huge privilege to witness their performances or even be taught by them in one of their classes so I will certainly try my best to see them again in the future.
