Dance Party returns to Bryant Park and celebrates its 12th anniversary season this summer! Dance Party events take place every Wednesday and Thursday from April 29 to May 14. At each event, attendees meet at the iconic Bryant Park fountain to learn basic steps with expert instructors at 6pm. Afterwards, participants can test out their new moves to live music performed by a diverse selection of bands.
Our annual Latin Festival brings Cuban salsa to Bryant Park, with the help of two-time Grammy award nominee Jose "Pepito" Gomez and 2025 Grammy award winner César Orozco.
Hosted and Produced by Talia Castro-Pozo
Cuban Salsa Festival Schedule
6pm-6:30pm: Dance instruction
6:45pm-8pm: Live dance music by Jose "Pepito" Gomez and La Royal Orquesta
8:00pm-8:30pm: Dance instruction
8:45pm-10pm: Live dance music by César Orozco and SonAhead featuring Ariacne Trujillo, Gina D'Soto, and Ivan Llanes
Jose "Pepito" Gomez is recognized as one of the most emblematic voices of contemporary Cuban music, with a career spanning decades of dedication and a legacy that transcends borders and genres.
Born in the small town of Florida, in the province of Camagüey, Cuba, Jose displayed an innate passion for music at a young age, beginning his career with small local bands while studying trumpet. After moving to Havana, he was the lead singer and composer for nands such as Habana Ensemble, Orquesta Charanga Latina, Compay Compay Segundo of the Buena Vista Social Club, and a founding member of the megaband Pupy y Los Que Son Son. After moving to New York CIty in 2008, he cofounded Guasábara Combo (with Puerto Rican pianist and arranger José Lugo) and Orquesta Akokán (with Jacob Plasse and Mike Eckroth).
José “Pepito” Gómez is currently working on his new Cuban music album, “Odara,” in which he explores various traditional styles such as Mambo, Cha-cha-cha, Rumba, and Bolero. He has also been recognized as Best Performer at the California Song Festival and has received two Grammy nominations: one with “Orquesta Akokán” and another for the album “Infinito” by Puerto Rican percussionist Edwin Bonilla.
César Orozco is a prolific Cuban/Venezuelan pianist, violinist, vocalist, composer, arranger, producer, and educator. After developing an important career in Venezuela, Mr. Orozco moved to the United States in 2012 and enrolled with a full tuition Assistantship to The Peabody Institute of John Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he earned a Graduate Performance Diploma (GPD) in 2014. Since relocating to the New York tri-state area in 2015, Mr. Orozco has become an in-demand pianist as a sideman as well as a leader of his own projects. Some of the artists he has worked with include Paquito D’Rivera, Pedrito Martinez, Gary Thomas, Yosvany Terry, Flavio Sala, Luisito Quintero, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Luis Enrique, Itai Kriss, Troy Roberts, Paul Bollenback, Albita Rodriguez, and Giovanni Hidalgo just to name a few.
Orozco has participated in more than 80 albums, including seven on his own. He is a 2025 Latin Grammy award winner for Best Arrangement, and additional two-time nominee for the category. Orozco has developed an innovative approach to a fusion of Venezuelan and Cuban traditional music with Jazz along with his project Kamarata.
SonAhead is Orozco's latest project, a band where Orozco takes center stage as the lead vocalist in addition to his work on piano, arrangement, and compositions, marking an exciting new chapter in his career. The name "SonAhead" speaks to its essence: a fusion of Cuban son—a foundational genre for what we now recognize as salsa—infused with elements of modern jazz, electronic music, and Cuban timba, a vibrant style that emerged in the 1990s which has deeply influenced Orozco since his teenage years.
Complimentary bag check is availible at Dance Party events. Our friendly staff can help store your belongings near our Petanque courts, just north of the Shop + Info booth.
Attendees can enjoy cuisine from the five boroughs with a rotating line-up of artisanal vendors curated by Hester Street Fair and Stout NYC.
Events are cancelled when it is unsafe to be outdoors, but may continue in light rain. Follow @bryantparknyc on Twitter and Instagram for day-of event updates.
Formerly, “Peruvian Ballet Representative to the World,” Talía Castro-Pozo represented Peru in the most prestigious ballet competitions around the globe. Talía started dancing at the age of three, becoming the youngest Soloist to join the National Ballet of Peru at age 14. After relocating to New York City to study at the prestigious School of American Ballet, she was able to expand her dance abilities by training in other forms of dance including, Contemporary, Modern, Jazz, Ballroom & Latin, among other styles.
Talía graduated from the William Esper Studio, studied acting under Bill Esper, voice & movement. She went on to study singing to strengthen her connection to her Peruvian Roots, currently singing Afro-Peruvian Jazz Music and continuing her music studies.
In 2022 Talia played “Mona” for the Hulu limited mini series “Fleishman is in Trouble”, as a recurring co-star alongside Jessie Eisenberg & Claire Danes (both nominated for best actors).
You can catch her choreography work in Season 3 of the TV series "The Godfather of Harlem". She has also choreographed for numerous independent films & TV commercials. She starred in the movie Isn’t Romantic as principal dancer, “Falling in Rhythm,” “Summer of Sam”, "Tango Finish” Off Broadway, TV series" Three Women" & "The Godfather of Harlem" Season 3.
As a Dance Coach she has trained professional dancers in partner dancing including Broadway dancers for choreographer Christopher Gattelli. Talia has managed numerous iconic dance studios in NYC and continues to teach master classes at BDC, Lincoln Center, Columbia University, NYU to name a few.
As Spokesperson and guest artist, she has been featured on NBC’s The Today Show with Patrick Swayze, Tiki Barber, Marc Anthony, Pitbull, The New York Times, ABC’s Good Morning America, CBS, Univision, Telemundo, and celebrated as “The Woman of Salsa” by Latina Magazine. Talia is the face of hundreds of commercials and print campaigns in the U.S. and abroad, for companies such as: American Express, American Airlines, Discovery Channel, Expedia, Google, Yahoo, to name a few. Her biographical profile has been included in Who’s Who in America & Who’s Who in the World.
Talia continues to host healthy life style TV shows in Spanish & English and to record as a VO artist. She is mom to Elan (8) & Amaya (6). She is the producer of Latin Mondays celebrating 19 years, Sunset Salsa with Talia, Bryant Park Dance Party & Midtown Dance. Talia is a recipient of the 2025 “Mujeres Destacadas”, a recognition given annually by El Diario NY to the most outstanding women in our community. She is also a Board Member of Ballroom Basix USA providing school children physical, social, emotional and cultural engagement through dance serving more than 20,000 school children in over a hundred NYC schools.
