Last Friday, London was treated to a tantalising glimpse of the exotic at the third annual Malaysia Night in Trafalgar Square. The event, which attracted thousands of people despite the rain, demonstrated the huge variety of Malaysia’s culture and provided a spectacular start to London’s 2012 Malaysia Week.

The event was officially opened by a group of Malaysian luminaries, including Dr Wong Lai Sum, Dr Syed Kamal and renowned shoe designer Jimmy Choo. Speaking at the event, member of the London Assembly James Cleverly pointed out that ‘Malaysia has a huge affinity with London’, explaining that the city’s diversity is an important factor in the close links between the two locations.

After the dignitaries cut the huge ribbon on stage, London was treated to spectacular entertainment that included colourfully-attired dancers, a spellbinding fashion show and haunting melodies from musicians using traditional Malaysian instruments. Around the square, stalls representing London’s best Malaysian restaurants sizzled with freshly cooked delights that ranged from traditional curries to sumptuously plump Malaysian pancakes.

Fortunately for those now hooked on Malaysia’s many delights, the South Bank is hosting Malaysia Week from now until 10 October. Here you’ll  find cultural exhibitions, traditional board games and, of course, the country’s delicious cuisine. As those who attended Malaysia Night will attest, the wealth of what’s on offer will even make you forget it’s raining!

Senegalese director and choreographer Diene Sagna moved to the UK four years ago to run his own dance company, Yaye Dib Sabar. He also holds sabar dance classes in London:

“Sabar is the drum, and also the dance – they go together. Of all the dances in the world that I know, it’s only sabar where you have to be in the air all of the time! You have to be light but also energetic and powerful. In the past it used to be just women who danced but now men are dancing sabar too.

“I’ve been dancing for a long time. When I was six years old I won a competition and after that, even though I was also going to school, dancing was my focus. When I was 17 I started to work professionally, going to Europe and working with big artists. I’ve worked with Youssou N’Dour, dancing on his video for 4444. I’ve also toured and performed with [bestselling Senegalese singer] Coumba Gawlo Seck.

“There are a lot of different African dance classes in London. They used to be mainly from Ghana or Nigeria, but now I can see the interest in Senegalese dance is increasing. It’s hard to make African dance respected in Europe – people think it’s just for fun. You can find contemporary and hip hop dance in the big theatres, but not this West African dance. I want to bring it onto the stage, that’s my fight.

“In London this June we held the first Yaye Dib Sabar International event, a weekend of Afro-dance workshops called Jump for Joy! We will be holding this every year in memory of my mum (who died in 2009) as a way of celebrating not only her life but also West African culture and in particular Sabar dance and drumming.

“I invite all students, from London and the UK as well as Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Belgium where I do workshops every year. I also organise an annual two-week dance training holiday in Dakar, Senegal, called Kaye Fecc, meaning Come Dance. The next one will be from 23 January to 4 February 2012.

“When my students see sabar they say it’s powerful, fast, fun and energetic also. But some people also say sabar is harder because they cannot understand the timing, the breaks. People also say sabar is the most difficult West African dance because it’s changing every week in Senegal. If I stay in UK for two years without going to Senegal I’m going to be lost! That’s why I go every year and spend two or three months there, finding out what’s new.”

The next Yaye Dib Sabar dance and drumming class in London is on Sunday 23 October 2011 at Studio 68 dance studio. More information

Puerto Rican Marco Santos tells us about Puerto Rico in London for our World in London project.

Long ago I got fed up with fantastic weather, great food and generous people and decided to leave Puerto Rico for other shores.

After years in the US, and generally wandering about, I’ve settled in London which fulfils two of the above three and adds two millennia worth of culture and history!

Still, as the song goes and like most of us who end up leaving, I do long for Viejo San Juan.

Salsa in London

“Despite a 20th century habit of emigration, you won’t find many Puerto Ricans in London. Most of us who do leave the island end up on the other side of the big pond, in New York or Florida.

What you will get in London is a big helping of our musical exports, be they pop icons (shake your bon-bons please Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin) or our sizeable contribution to the well-known musical genre of salsa, which most of us have been dancing to since we were toddlers.

Try some of your local London salsa clubs and you will no doubt hear one of our musicians: People in the know say you can always tell if there’s a “boricua” on the congas.

Reggaeton in London

More recently (well, in the last five years or so) you’ll have heard some of our more heavily street hip-grinding beats of reggeaton: seeded in Panama, developed in Puerto Rico and exploding throughout the Latin American community.

Artists like Wisin & Yandel, Don Omar, Daddy Yankee and my personal favourite Tego Calderon do make the trip and put on a wild show. Special mention reserved for cross-over artists Calle 13, who have taken a very strong political message and broader musical style and chalked up countless Grammies as a result.

Go to a gig – the energy is spectacular and you won’t be able to stop yourself from dancing.  Or you can check out a reggaeton club, where you’ll likely find a higher concentration of the broader Latin community.

More Puerto Rican Culture in London

The few of us who are in London are often students or professionals and the community is so small that we don’t have any restaurants, markets or organizations.  If you know of any, I’d love to hear of them!

Do you have any more tips for sampling Puerto Rican culture in London? Let us know in the comments below.

Argentinian dance show, Tanguera is showing in London for a limited run, after selling out all over the world. Sadler’s Wells in Islington is one of London’s most prestigious dance venues and sure enough on Tuesday night the auditorium was packed to the brim and the audience around me were enthralled, with several people on their feet joining in.

The storyline of Tanguera is a bit lacklustre, but there is no doubt that this cast is very talented. Leticia Fallacara is enchanting Giselle, dancing with speed and precision but also creating a seductive lead character. There are some impressive routines from the men and soulful vocal accompaniment is provided by Marianella, who has triumphed in many productions including her critically acclaimed Grizabella in Cats.

The music is beautiful throughout Tanguera, I could have listened to it alone all night. The show begins with a short interlude from the six piece band, which is charming and illustrates the musicians’ natural understanding of the music they are interpreting. The musical ensemble is made up of two bandoneons (a type of concertina instrument similar to an accordion), piano, double bass, guitar and violin, all parts interweaving to create a full and dramatic sound.

Read more about Tanguera on my blog: thoroughlymodernmilly5.blogspot.com

Tanguera continues at Sadler’s Wells until 22 August. Buy Tanguera tickets here.

The Go! Go! Go! Show is a new musical at Leicester Square Theatre that the whole family can enjoy.

Go! Go! Go! follows a young pop group who awake one morning to discover their socks are missing. They soon realise the culprit is a cheeky creature called the Fluffalope, who likes nothing more than munching his way through tasty old socks! The gang then embarks on a hilarious caper to rescue their socks via Holiday Bay and the Land of Lost Property.

The feelgood musical is packed full of music, dancing, jokes and magic and is suitable for kids of all ages.

Visit London is giving away 10 family tickets (2 adults, 2 kids per ticket) to any performance of Go! Go! Go! in August.

To win, tell us in the comments below what you’re doing as a family in London this summer holidays and send an email with your contact details to james@mobiusindustries.com

Entries close at 11.59pm on Wednesday 28 July. Winners will be notified by email on Friday 30 July.

If you’re not lucky enough to win, you can book Go! Go! Go! tickets here

The class is described as “suitable for everybody who wants to dance like the Pussycat Dolls.” Well, who doesn’t? Although I imaged myself losing the beat among a group of perfectly-toned music school students.

I tried to hide in the last row with my obligatory gym outfit: leggings, shirt and trainers, and was surprised when everybody else turned up in similar clothes. No little jazz cardigans, no expensive ballet slippers – apparently everybody was just there to have fun too.

That’s Frame’s concept as well. It’s one of the few dance and fitness studios in London where there are no commitments and people are encouraged to get fit in a fun way.

If you don’t want to sign up as a member, you can just drop in to a class (these start from £6). You can also become a friend and get a Frame top-up card that works like an Oyster card and gives you good discounts on classes.

The classes are what make this studio so special.  Aerobicoholics and dance aficionados will be in heaven with the range: from ballet workouts to Jane Fonda tributes and pilates.

The studios are in the Shoreditch Arches, near Great Eastern Street, in recently renovated rooms with huge mirrors and wooden floors.

Bonnie, our enthusiastic teacher, who also dances on the X Factor, chose the new Alicia Keys and Beyoncé track, Put It In A Love Song, for the class . The choreography was based on street and hip-hop moves but she mixed in some belly-dance and latin routines as well.

It was so much fun that I was still dancing when I got home and will certainly go again. Are you ready to move your frame too?

More dance classes in London

Dance under the stars!
Being that I dance like a turkey with stomach ache, I find solace in the obscurity of a dark dancefloor. But London’s more confident clubbers are shedding their skins and hitting the great outdoors. Yes, superclubs such as Egg and Ministry of Sound are celebrating the summer with huge sun terraces where night owls can sip mojitos, jig among tropical plants and generally imagine they’re in Ibiza (well, there is a credit crunch, you know). I just hope airline pilots don’t mistake those glow sticks for landing lights…

Broadwalk bonanza!
The Drifters once sang about having some fun under the boardwalk (ask your mum and dad). Well, it turns out you can have just as much fun at The Broadwalk! That particular corner of Regent’s Park plays host to two brilliant outdoor dance gatherings over the summer - Broadwalk Ballroom and Tango Al Fresco. The drill is simple: learn the moves, absorb the finesse of the guest demonstrators (more often than not former Strictly Come Dancing stars), then pretend you’re from the cast of Dirty Dancing. Corny ‘Nobody puts Baby in the corner’ lines optional.

Fantastic Four!
With such dinosaurs as Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Crosby, Stills & Nash on the bill, Glastonbury 2009 could be renamed Jurassic Park 4. Promising to be slightly less arthritic (and certainly closer) is August Bank Holiday’s South West Four dance extravaganza on Clapham Common. With the likes of Sasha, John Digweed, David Guetta and Eric Prydz (yes, the one with the pervy aerobics video) on the bill, you’ll be swaying in time with the trees.

A different class!
What could be more aspirational for a wannabe dancer than taking classes across the road from the Royal Albert Hall? That’s the prospect on offer at Summer of Dance Outdoors - a group that meets every Wednesday evening (6.30pm) next to the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park. Expect jazzy funk with some Caribbean modern – and to get beeped by plenty of passing motorists!

Become a flasher!
You’ve seen the T-Mobile TV ad. You know, the one where hundreds of commuters at Liverpool Street station, without warning and exactly the same time, make like they have ants in their pants. These synchronised acts of tomfoolery are called flashmobs have become mainstream and are open to anyone with a sense of fun (and possibly too much time on their hands). They can involve anything from standing completely still to performing a victory dance at Wimbledon to encourage the British tennis players (a miracle dance might be more appropriate).

Do you know of other outdoor strutting arenas?