Tumbáo Latin Festival (TLF)

Billed as the first Cuban-focused festival in Dubai, and the first edition bore that out: dancers came not only from the Emirates but from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, whose scenes the organisers thanked by name afterwards. That is the interesting part. A Cuban festival in the Gulf only works if several small scenes agree to converge on one weekend. Despite the Latin in the name, the programme is Cuban throughout: salsa cubana, timba, Afro-Cuban and rueda across two rooms, from open level to advanced. The shape is particular to where it is. Pool parties in the afternoon, night parties after, and an outdoor pre-party the evening before it starts. January is when Dubai is comfortable outdoors, which is why the festival sits there rather than anywhere else in the calendar. The first edition brought Yanet Fuentes, Jennyselt Galata, Danger y Marielkis, Osmani Segura and Paolo Suárez, with three themed nights: a black and white gala, a Cuban night, and denim to close.