Cali holds ballet and percussion festivals

Cali, Colombia’s capital of salsa, will be moving to a different beat this week as the city celebrates both ballet and percussion.

Visitors to Cali will have to decide between ballet slippers or tapping their toes to percussion rhythms as the city plays host to simultaneous festivals celebrating ballet dance and percussion rhythms.

The Fourth Annual International Ballet Festival will host ballet dancers from 16 different countries and free dance shows will be held throughout the city.

Percussion group Tamborimba will host the Third Annual Percussion Festival with musicians from around the world hosting concerts and workshops.

Percussion fans can enjoy the beats of artists from Cuba, France, Mexico, the U.S., and Colombia. A concert will be held Thursday featuring US artist Dave Samuels and Colombian artist Samuel Torres in the Center for Pacific Events.

Performances by various groups will be held at the museum this weekend, and the festival will conclude Saturday with performances by Caribbean Grammy nominees Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto and local Pacific fusion group Mama Julia.

Events will be held throughout the city this week. For more information, click here.