We were proud to once again provide the dance floors for Havana Salsa, supporting the event for the third year. This year’s event took place at the Birmingham Conference & Events Centre (BCEC) and featured three dedicated dance rooms hosting salsa, bachata, and kazumba across three days.
Across the venue, we supplied three large parquet dance floors, creating the ideal surface for daytime lessons and high-energy evening parties that ran into the early hours.
Three Dance Floors Across Three Rooms
Each room required careful planning to maximise dance space while still allowing room for seating, staging, and performers.
Main Salsa Room
In the main room, we installed a 51ft x 33ft parquet dance floor. This was the largest possible size while still allowing sufficient space for tables and the band stage. The floor provided a smooth, stable surface for large group lessons during the day and high-capacity dancing in the evening.
Bachata Room
For the bachata room, we supplied a 39ft x 30ft parquet dance floor, carefully designed to accommodate tables and a small teaching stage. This allowed instructors to clearly demonstrate techniques while giving dancers ample room to practice.
Kazumba Dance Area
The kazumba room featured a 21ft x 21ft parquet dance floor, perfectly suited to the size of the space and the style of dancing taking place.
Three Days of Continuous Dancing
Over the course of the event, lessons ran daily from 10am until 6pm, followed by evening parties from 8pm through to 4am. With up to 18 hours of dancing per day, floor stability and safety were critical.
We remained onsite throughout the event to monitor the floors, ensuring there were no gaps, movement, or edge issues. In previous years, before our involvement, there had been some flooring issues, but once again the floors were installed correctly and performed flawlessly throughout the entire festival.
Installation and Build Schedule
All equipment was delivered on 28th December, with the build starting early on 29th December. This ensured all three dance floors were fully installed and ready in time for the band sound check at 6pm.
The opening party began at 8pm, with dancers enjoying all three rooms until 2am. At the end of the night, each floor was thoroughly checked to confirm there were no gaps and that all edging remained securely in place.
Daily Inspections and Ongoing Support
On 30th December, guests returned for a 10am start, with lessons running throughout the day until 6pm. While the bands set up in the evening, we carried out another full inspection of each dance floor. All remained in perfect condition, highlighting the importance of proper preparation and installation.
That evening’s programme included lessons followed by live music from around 11pm until 1:30am, with dancing continuing until 4am. After the party finished, all floors were checked again, with light cleaning carried out where drinks had been spilled.
New Year’s Eve Celebrations
On 31st December, the final day of the event, lessons once again ran from 10am until 6pm. Following another full inspection, everything was ready for the final night.
Guests returned at 8pm to dance the New Year in, with approximately 500 people in the main room for the countdown. Celebrations continued until 4am, bringing the festival to a memorable close.
Breakdown and Final Assessment
The following morning, from around 11am, all three dance floors were dismantled. During removal, we noted that the main floor had shifted by approximately two inches from its original position. This may have occurred gradually over the three days or during the final night.
Importantly, this movement did not affect safety or performance, as we always allow a small tolerance around the edges to prevent any issues during high-energy events.
Event Summary
In total, approximately 4.5 tonnes of parquet dance flooring were supplied for this salsa festival. It is just one of many large-scale dance events we support each year.
If you require dance floor hire for salsa, bachata, ballroom, or other styles of dancing, whether for festivals, competitions, or large events, please get in touch to discuss your requirements.
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