Allyra from "Tropical Gem" - Italy, Milano

BZ> Welcome to Australia Allyra…All the way from Italy,
         how do you feel?
I feel a little bit tired, 2 days of travelling, but I'm ok. We had to stay the
night in Athens, then, fly the next day. Still the team is doing great and it's
better than I expected.

BZ> Tell me what your expectations are of the Congress? This is obviously your
         first time in Sydney, what do you hope to see?
I think it's going to be great…I've heard the organisers have been organising it for a while
and that it's taken a lot of work and team effort to put together so I'm really looking
forward to seeing the results. The hotel is nice so, so far so good.

BZ> I know that Salsa in Italy is very high level, I personally went last
         year. Can you tell me a little bit about the Dancing in Italy?
Salsa has been in Italy for a good number of years, and the Italians study a lot,
they are very serious about their Dancing. They pay for Classes in advance
( 4-5months in advance), they keep studying all the time and every time there is
an International Artist in town they go to all the Workshops etc. In Milan,
everyone helps each other out; it's Teamwork to the max. Other schools support
each other and will send their students to do other workshops not just their own.
Although I believe that doesn't really work in the Southern part of Italy.

BZ> How long have you been dancing, and what does it mean to you?
I've been dancing for about 8yrs and the group "Tropical Gem" has been
together for about 4yrs. Salsa is my life…I just love it, it's a passion.
And also it's the group "Tropical Gem" we get along really well and
work well together. We don't fight, everybody has their strong points
and we use it to our best ability. We work together as a group really well….
better than with our own families. Because also, in the end when you look
at it, there is enough Salsa to go around for everybody, if you know what
I mean? If you have the support of everyone and respect everyone's opinion,
it works. Most of the time you know that if someone has a Workshop or an Event, you
don't put yours on the same day... etc. We've had a lot of success in Milan with that philosophy.

BZ> Thank you so much and I wish you all the best.
Thanks so much.