Artists 2026

Rohan Brown a salsa legend, will be MC’ing and teaching and DJ’ing and being his general ‘shy and reserved’ self across the weekend. We can’t wait to see what he has in store for us!

We work hard to ensure a friendly, inclusive atmosphere and love that our dance family gets bigger every year.

What is your favourite part of the congress? Is it the classes? The parties? Catching up with friends? The shows?

Tell us your best Congress memories so far….dont worry, we won’t tell anyone if they’re secrets 

Dance into happiness in our special Icons edition  

A warm and huge welcome back to the amazingly talented Lewis Barr and the beautiful Katrin. We are so excited to see what these two have in store for us this year as they will be teaching and performing over the weekend. 

This is a weekend of fun, friendship and frivolity but also an excellent opportunity to up your dancing skills, try a new genre of dance and be inspired by our artists and performers.

Our very own little bundle of joy and good behaviour….or maybe not! Andreas Ru ‘Salsa Rebel’ will be joining us and he promises to be as sexy and sassy as ever….

Andreas is a very talented dancer and an incredibly popular teacher. He will be teaching and partying all weekend. Andreas will be teaching salsa and bachata. He will be funny and crazy but definitely help you to learn moves that are dance-floor ready. 

Andreas finds it very difficult to behave well, so we need people to keep an eye on him and report him to us if he misbehaves….

Grab your last remaining Gold Passes-don’t miss out on the friendliest Congress!

Our trés beau Petit Chou Tamba is teaching and performing and partying and smiling and just being his generally fabulous self ALL WEEKEND at Newcastle Congress!

Teaching a variety of workshops, Tamba is known for fun, laughter and a lot of talent. 

Tamba really tells a story in his dancing, whether it is a performance or a social dance. Ladies-make sure you grab him for a dance - even if you have to queue, he is worth the wait 

Newcastle Congress 

Dance into happiness 

Who better to advertise our icon theme than this lady?! Rasa Pauzaite is a key member of our Newcastle Congress family and is a popular teacher, dancer and party/after party animal! Teaching salsa, bachata, Dominican bachata, styling and anything else we send her way, there is something for everyone. Make sure you join at least one of her workshops…you may even get a chance to perform!

Join Rasa and the rest of our talented team at The Holiday Inn, Seaton Burn, Newcastle

9th, 10th and 11th January 2026 (pre party 8th)

Dance into happiness

Lovely Sally will be with us and she will be teaching and DJ’ing and partying and smiling all weekend. Sally leads and follows so EVERYONE can dance with her. And you should! 

Basil and Heidi are very much a part of our dance family and they are bringing up a big group of dancers from ‘darn sarf’

Both are talented performers and teachers and they bring a lot to our congress every year and this year will be no exception.

The pair are teaching a range of workshops over the congress and partying every night, and we can’t wait to see their new show. 

Workshops with Basil and Heidi are so informative, one experienced dancer noted that he has danced differently (in a good way!) since last year’s ’dance to understand the music’ workshop. 

AND don’t forget our fabulous pre party on 7th January - free to Gold Passes holders. A chance to chill, dance with some of our artists and teachers and kick off the weekend in style

Our local lady Leanne will be teaching kizomba and will be dancing and partying too. Make sure you ask her for a dance. 

Over 120 workshops, a Icons theme, a special pre party, shows, all night parties and so much more. We can’t imagine a better way to kick off  2026!

What are you waiting for????!!!!

Jeydikson Lima is coming back with some smooth moves and entertaining classes. His workshops will take you to the next level in Kizomba. Jey is a fabulous social dancer, not just Kizomba (you can pull him out of the Kizomba room into the salsa room ) and he’s definitely ready to party and always with a smile. 

Grab your Gold Pass now and join Jeydikson and the rest of our awesome dance family for the friendliest congress.

Dance into happiness!

Here is Lotty to explain what it’s all about;

FITSTEPS WITH LOTTY Iconic style!

Created in 2013 by 'Strictly Come Dancing's' very own Natalie Lowe and Ian Waite. Fitsteps is a fun fitness class that combines the graceful steps of Ballroom and the up tempo steps of the Latin dances to create an energetic, effective way to get fit and stay healthy.

The programme is based around twelve of the most popular Latin and Ballroom dances, including Jive, Cha cha, Waltz and Quickstep.

You DON'T need a partner and you DON'T need to be able to dance!

Fitsteps presenter & Master trainer Lotty Dall will bring you a fab-u-lous 80’s themed class packed with all your favourite hits from that decade! So get your hair in a side pony, throw on your legwarmers and join her on the dancefloor!

This is a class for everyone and will be so much fun.

Lotty is full of smiles and sparkle and a lovely edition to our dance family.

The amazingly talented magic-hipped sensation all the way from Uganda Valentino is joining us!!!

This is a lovely opportunity to relax and dance with several of our artists,

And the really great thing is Valentino will be with us for the whole weekend; teaching, performing, partying, dancing and smiling

Our beautiful Sarah Leigh will be with us all weekend.

Sarah will be teaching lots of different classes over the weekend, including CUBAtone for the sporty dancers, reggaeton for the bendy dancers, and all manner of other classes for all dancers.

Make sure to grab Sarah for a dance or two over the weekend.

Pre party 7th January 2026

The Newcastle Congress

8th, 9th, 10th January 2026

Holiday Inn, Seaton Burn, Newcastle

Dance into happiness.

Awesome, affable Alfie is back with us and bringing some fun Kizomba classes.

Always smiling and full of happy energy, Alfie brings sunshine to the congress. 

Catch him on the dance floor (not just Kizomba….drag him along to the salsa room too) as he is just lovely.

With signature line ups and key dips, tricks and moves Uncle Phil is legendary in the salsa world.

Uncle Phil is a world champion in shines and has the medals and certificates to prove it! 

Catch him for a social dance and join his classes for fun and unforgettable moves 

Uncle Phil will be dancing with us at the pre party too 

Last few Gold Passes remaining and price rise imminent!

Dance into Happiness

Role rotation….the new kid on the block?

It’s 2025. Some girls lead. Some guys follow. More people are happy to dance and connect on the dance floor with another person, regardless of gender or traditional roles. 

Taking this to the next level is switching between leading and following during the dance.

And here in Newcastle we are ready! And we have some exciting new teachers who will be showing us how to role rotate during the dance.

Introducing, for the first time in Newcastle Congress, Beatriz and Laia who created Bachata Bash, the first regular role rotation events in Newcastle. Laia is from Barcelona and Beatriz from Lisbon. They promise energy, creativity and a supportive vibe to the workshops.

Secondly, we have the incredibly talented Aaron Bradley-Bevan back with us and he will be teaming up with our wonderful very own Ben Mills. Both are fantastic social dancers and are known for their style and flair. They will be teaching role rotation, plus Ben will be teaching separately with the lovely Steph AND Aaron will be teaching some of his amazing styling tips and body movement. 

We strive, year on year, to bring something a little different alongside our tried and tested teachers and styles to help you get the very best out of your dance worlds.

Xris Pentland

Laura Marvel

Angeleon BG

Eşref Parranda Ulaş CHOOSE LIFE! A key theme in the eighties and the days of Wham! Who better to advertise this than the wonderfully effervescent Eşref who really does personify this statement. We are delighted that Eşref is joining us for the whole weekend, including the pre-party. He will be teaching, DJ’ing, doing line ups, dancing, smiling and selfie-ing, and, to use his own words, celebrating love, friendship and affection.

CHOOSE LIFE-CHOOSE THE Newcastle Salsa Congress

CHOOSE from well over 100 workshops

CHOOSE to party all night

CHOOSE from up to 4 party rooms

CHOOSE to start 2026 in the BEST way!

Dance into happiness

John & Hanna are yelling at you all to get your passes before the price rise!

Our special icons edition. With a pre party and a disco ‘through the decades’ and over 120 workshops and your favourite teachers and performers and a chance to dress up and look ridiculous….all under the one roof!

Laurita and Andre  Our lovely local/London Laurita is teaching bachata styling and reggaeton. 

Also, bringing something a little different, Laurita will be doing a special bachata fusion workshop.

This workshop will be even more exciting because Laura is bringing with her a special guest, André. Please give Andre a warm Geordie welcome as it is his first time at Newcastle Congress and we want to give a good impression.  

If you’ve left Christmas presents very VERY late then why not give the best gift ever? A Gold Pass to Newcastle Congress!

Or why not treat yourself? Forget the Boxing Day sales, use your money to buy smiles, music, dancing, happiness 

Dance into Happiness

NEW ARTIST FOR 2026!

Drum roll please!

Introducing, for the first time at Newcastle Congress, the wonderfully talented Femi Otukoya.

Femi is well known on the congress and dance holiday circuit, but has never been to Newcastle Congress so be sure to give him a warm welcome. Femi sadly lost his lovely wife Jan last year, a tough time, it is lovely to see him back teaching and dancing again.

Femi will be teaching several workshops over the weekend and he’s also a popular social dancer so look him up, have a dance with him, learn from him and give him a hug.

Femi teaches salsa, bachata, urban kiz, merengue….and more. AND he has the BEST smile both on and off the dance floor

Looking ahead to next year! Brilliantly talented siblings Korey and Kayleigh will be joining us to perform AND teach.

There are still a few early bird passes left at the reduced price of £89.

Stay tuned for our next theme…..

9th, 10th, 11th January 2026

Pre party 8th January

Our head DJ Marky Mark is super busy finalising the DJ timetable this weekend.

Get excited-we have fabulous DJ’s in the salsa, bachata and kizomba rooms who will all be providing top tunes for you

And if you see Mark outside the DJ area, grab him for a dance, give him a hug, get him a Coke and he might just play your favourite song for you!

Look out for the DJ timetable is here. DJ Timetables 

Get excited! 

3rd, 4th and 5th January 2025

Pre party 2nd January

Holiday Inn, Seaton Burn, Newcaste

The New Newcastle Congress Page

Dance into happiness.