Cebu SBKZ Fest 2025 to feature Asia’s first Kizomba concert

The resounding success of last year’s Cebu SBKZ International Festival compelled many international artists to return for the 2025 edition, as organizers from Cebu Salsa Club aim once more to put the province on the map as a key destination in the global social dancing community.

- By JANUAR JUNIOR AGUJA

Cebu SBKZ features workshops for amateurs and pros alike to learn salsa, bachata, kizomba, and zouk, along with social party events where delegates can put their skills to the test with fellow participants on the dance floor.

“I really enjoy exchanging our culture and knowledge with fellow artists and dancers, so I’m bringing a few students from New Zealand with me to Cebu,” said New Zealand-based DJ Alyx Ty at yesterday’s press conference at Harolds Hotel Cebu.

Many of the artists present Thursday praised the club’s founders — Jilly Enriquez, John Monteith, Barbie Alonzo, and Kevin Sato — for their smooth operations last year, as the group seeks to expand Cebu’s social dancing scene through SBKZ.

“This event is not what I’ve seen from other [social dancing] events where there’s even a presscon. It’s nice for us to engage with the locals as we want them to join us in learning how to do social dancing,” Ty added.

Another returnee is India~based DJ Rajbi, who said, “I am a friend [of the organizers] and I want to support them in every way to make Cebu a future hotspot in social dancing.”