REVIEW: Edwin Sanz Salsa Orchestra at The Apex, May 19
This year’s Bury St Edmunds Festival has once again invited ‘creative critics’ to review a number of performances.
In an effort to encourage youngsters to engage with art and celebrate their voices, the festival has partnered with several schools to capture the experiences of their Year 5 pupils in writing. Below are a selection of reviews of Friday’s Edwin Sanz Salsa Orchestra show at The Apex by students at Glade Primary in Brandon and All Saints in Newmarket.
The atmosphere created was amazing; I felt like I was a real salsa dancer. It was the best night of my life. My favourite performer was the piano player; he was amazing. He started playing guitar when he was 15 and then he took up the piano when he was 17, so he’s been playing it for 30 years! I could see crazy singers who got the audience involved and the dancers whirling around the floor. Two amazing salsa dancers were good at spinning, I could see them from the top balcony. The music was addictive and you couldn’t help yourself from joining in. I took to the floor and improved my own salsa! Overall this was an amazing experience and I would certainly go to see this fabulous orchestra again.
By Michael Almeida, Glade pupil
When we walked in, you could see a bright shining light coming from the stage, which was blinding with rainbow and life. The flamboyant music really added to the effect and made everybody happy and excited to be there. I could see a lot of overjoyed couples dancing in the bright colours, submerged in their excitement. If you ever get the opportunity to see this show, then do it! It is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I highly recommend it because it has professional singers and musicians who were engaging, enlivening and stupendous performers. One little thing to improve – get a bigger dance floor! Five out of five stars.
By Austin Arnold, All Saints pupil
The vibe was crazily overwhelming, nearly everyone was up and dancing. In the orchestra there was three singers, a pianist, a drummer, bongos, a trombone, a guitarist, a saxophone and a trumpet. They sang a variety of salsa songs that we could dance along to (but secretly I didn’t know any salsa moves so I just copied them.) If you were down and you came to that performance it would’ve lifted your spirits so high you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself. The effect was stupendous, I could’ve listened to it all day and never get bored. My personal favourite singer was Naomi Phillips and my favourite musician was the pianist. Naomi Phillips was my favourite because all she had to do was open her mouth and beautiful music came out. The pianist was my favourite because his speed was incredible; about every five seconds he was hitting about 10 notes. When we spoke to the orchestra I found out that the pianist started on guitar then switched to the piano when he was young. He has been playing for over 30 years! Although the orchestra performed with what seemed like ease, they said that before a show they feel a mixture of excited and scared. My favourite part of the trip was when I was dancing with my friends.
By Poppy Cash, Glade pupil
There were so many radiant colours and so many people dancing to the salsa music, it was fantastic. A little while later, the band came in and suddenly it got louder so we sat down to listen. The music was really thrilling and noisy but it was fun! Another few more minutes after that and the vocalist came and sang an amazing song to all of us. Two more people came it was amazing. There were so many bright colours like it was a disco and with smoke at the back which gave it a much better look. It was so loud but so cool! I didn’t understand anything because it was all in Spanish but I still really enjoyed it. I wasn’t sure about it before I went but we were lucky enough to get tickets and I’m so glad we went there. It was the best day of my life. It was so hot and I was so exhausted and so tired but it was so worth it. My favourite part was when we got to talk to the band and that Naomi sang happy birthday to Oliver. What a treat! The best day ever!
By Aleksandra Felinska, All Saints pupil
What I saw was a lot of people either playing instruments or singing. I was amazed by the salsa dancing from people of all ages. The music made me think about dancing. I also felt excited to go and see the show. I thought about the venue and how all the artists had to travel to England from around the world. I thought about how the music made the other people feel and how it made them want to dance. I also felt happy because I got to join in. I thought about how the singer improvised throughout the show. The show meant to me to have fun and enjoy myself. The show also meant to have a better friend ship through the art of dancing. My opinion was fantastic because the sound of the music, how they made the music, the sound of the singers voices. I liked the way the male singer spoke in Spanish for some of the songs.
By Xander Good, Glade pupil
