Who: D’Talle
When: Tuesday, Feb. 14
Where: MY Millennium Place
Tickets: $20/$17
Throw eight sizzling-hot Cuban female musicians on one stage with shaking hips that just don’t stop and a sell-out show is not much of a stretch for the imagination.
However, bring the Cuban musicians back to Whistler not once but more than three times, and eventually the music turns even the most two-left-footer of a dancer into a state of salsa-ing and tango-ing bliss taking centre stage.
Rumba with Caribbean music from the eight-female ensemble and one male drummer (one happy man) D’Talle for Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. at MY Millennium Place.
"I think it is not about who is on stage, but what is in the music," said Ivette Porras Thorp, the pianist and music director for D’Talle.
"We focus on the music, the rhythm, the movement. I think Cuban music is very rich. It’s not just salsa, but cha cha, rumba and bolero. I think the energy we use to perform also really complements people getting into what we do."
And people are getting into D’Talle’s tropical heat across the world.
Initially sticking close to home with countless shows around the Cuba club and hotel circuit, the Havana-based band expanded its reach with the release of its first album De La Salsa Cubana , followed by tours of Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America and North America.
The band fashions its music in the stylings of the world’s most recognized Cuban band, the Buena Vista Social Club, by combining traditional rhythms with contemporary sounds.
"We try to keep it traditional, but at the same time, add a mix with new styles," Porras Thorp said. "I think of all the changes we have in the world and the influences from that music."
Porras Thorp, whose credits include Manolin of El Medico de la Salsa, is joined by Cynthia Rodriguez and Sahili Gonzales on keyboards, Zunelvis Fonseca on congas, Yisell Sanchez on bongos, Adrianne Mihet Charon on bass, Danay Charon and Maiyelin Soriano on vocals, and Giberto Moreaux on drums.
Tickets for the Valentine’s Day concert are $20 for adults and $17 for seniors and students. Call 604-935-8410 for tickets. The Performance Series show is sponsored by McMillan Thorn Certified General Accountants.
