What made you decide that organising Kizomba festivals was your next step?

It was a natural step, as we have our own venue with Dance Studios and club with stage. During our travels, we had a lot of people who start asking.

How do you determine which artists, performers and DJs you invite?

We organize two international festivals, Ta Fixe Kizomba Festival and DMAES Summer Bootcamp. They have also two different concepts. Some of the artists cross-over between the two events, but others have specifications that are more suitable for just one than the other.

We try to balance the line-up in a way that we have quality workshops, quality shows and quality social dancing, but most importantly, humble and easy-going artists. We need to have chemistry with them as human beings and like that, we know that they will have perfect mood for what we want to offer as a festival experience.

What are the biggest challenges you face each year?

We are in a period that the festival options are huge, so we focus on quality of service and to give what we announce. We try not to follow the “fashions” of the moment but to keep true to what we consider to be correct and of quality.

The biggest challenge is to command attention in the middle of so many festivals and options, but we truly believe that the best promotion is done through satisfied customers, that will return and bring more people with them. In our festivals we have one advantage as we don’t want to become “the biggest” festival. We want to keep it small and familial.

What would you say has been some of the highlights so far?

One of them was to have the opportunity of “discovering” back to the scene Mr. Eduardo Paim, bringing him to a live concert and for a lecture. Also hosting Paulo Flores with his live band. And also in another festival we organized, World Hug Dance Festival, having 160 people on the same stage from different countries performing a choreography made by us.

What does the future hold for your festivals?

Following the same “rules” from previous years, searching for quality improvement and trying to give a better and better experience to the attendees.

Ta Fixe Kizomba Festival will take place from 1 Mar 2019 – 3 Mar 2019 in Porto, Portugal.
DMAES SUMMER BOOTCAMP is a Summer Dance Festival to be held in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, from August 2nd to 11th of August 2019.