My playlist…

We ask James Castro of James & Alex Dance Studios, what he’s listening to and what music means to him...

iPod picks

1. Lucky Dog by Tito Puente 2. Que Mujer by Orlando Marin 3. Llanto De Cocodrilo by Ray Barretto 4. Hilda by Alfredo De La Fé

5. Amalia Batista by Tipica 73 6. Good News by Harvie S 7. Silencio by Orquesta Harlow

8. Vuela La Paloma by Tito Rodríguez 9. Bacalao salao by Tito Rodríguez 10. Yo Soy Babalu by Joe Cuba

Sound-bytes

What’s your favourite kind of music? Nowadays it is Latin, Latin jazz, and NY Mambo, which ironically I hated when I was younger. I have always loved jazz though and I think my taste has expanded into these genres over time. What does music mean to you? Being a dancer, when I hear a great song I just want to get up and dance. If it’s really amazing, it inspires me to choreograph a show. Music you grew up listening to? I only really started listening to music when I got to 14 or 15 and it was mainly chart music around the mid 90’s. I played the piano and trumpet growing up and always wanted to play jazz professionally, but I could never improvise, so that didn’t last long. Your favourite party track? I don’t want to hear the same song at every party. If I over-hear a track after a while I start hating it, which does sometimes happens to songs I perform to or use too often in classes. There are some songs I never ever want to hear again for this reason!