Another great Pattaya Latin Saturday event was hosted at the Havana Bar, Holiday Inn Pattaya on Saturday August 29, under the theme “Journey Thru Cuba & Puerto Rico” with the special appearance of Sarina Suno, a.k.a. the ‘Violin Diva’, a Japanese violinist capable of playing jazz, pop, rock, and most notoriously house music.
Havana Bar was a full house as local hipsters dressed in tropical colors filled the dance floor for the traditional 8 p.m. dance lessons. Many salsa lovers from Bangkok and the surrounding areas were also at the event, not just for the dancing but also to witness the Pattaya debut of the electric Violin Diva, Sarina Suno. Since electric violinists are quite rare, those who attended were definitely in for a treat.
Sarin Suno, the ‘Violin Diva’ performs at Havana Bar, August 29.
Sarina has been playing the violin from age five. She started with classical training, but also explored other areas, such as Jazz and electric music. As a child, and all the way into her late teens, Sarina performed all over Japan as a classical violinist and won several competitions.
Shortly after graduating from Berklee College of Music, Sarina got a record deal with Victor Entertainment, one of the largest major labels in Japan, under SONY Music management, and from 2006 to 2007, she toured intensively all over Japan, released three CDs, all of which made it to the top 20 charts on iTunes, released two music videos which got extensive air time on MTV Japan, and performed live on dozens of national radio stations and on several national talk shows and TV programs.
Ramona Neaga’s Dance Queens were another highlight of the evening.
Since Sarina moved to New York City in 2007, she has been performing regularly at some of the most famous night clubs and concert halls of New York, including Radio City Hall and Carnegie Hall.
With the desire of seeking a new location to perform, Sarina recently got in touch with DJ Henry Knowles, the host of popular salsa gigs in Bangkok and Pattaya. He arranged for Sarina to visit Thailand, firstly for a performance at the Ku De Ta in Bangkok before making it to Pattaya for her show at the Havana Bar.
(L to R) DJ Henry Knowles, with Sarina Suno, Luiz Calderon, dance teacher from the rumPUREE World Dance Studio and DJ Roland, AKA “Dr. Salsa”.
It was yet another successful night with other special appearances and dance shows by Ramona Neaga’s Dance Queens, Rumpureetas from rumPUREE World Dance Studio and Kirk & Lieze from the Somsiri Dance Studio Pattaya.
The next big event for Latin Saturdays in Pattaya will be a Halloween Party on October 31.
