"(It's) the tightest, most precise, most defined sound that I have ever encountered in the salsa genre," Antonio Diaz said, describing the music of Maraca. Diaz and his wife, Heather Haugland, both local dance instructors, helped arrange to bring the band to Juneau.

"There is so much energy, so much professionalism ... and the level of music that they bring on stage is unbelievable. Juneau is really going to get something special here," Diaz said.

Orlando Valle, aka Maraca, is the world-renowned, Grammy-nominated flutist, composer and director of the Afro-Cuban salsa band Maraca who will be performing at 9 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30, at Centennial Hall.

Maraca's show is part of Juneau DanceFest 2008, a three-day dance event beginning Friday, Aug. 29 and running through Monday, Sept. 1. The festival is sponsored by the Juneau International Folk Dancers, the Juneau Arts & Humanities Council and the Alaska State Council on the Arts.

Also featured at the event is swing music by Seattle-based Blue 4 Trio on Friday, and special performances and classes led by guest instructors.

Here's a look at some of the participants.

"They are very loved in Cuba. Being a musician in Cuba is such a privilege and it's hard work because there's so many really outstanding bands (there) and to stay on the top is really, really a hard thing to do for so many years," Diaz said of Maraca.

The band has performed worldwide for 12 years - at concerts, festivals, clubs and large venues with audiences in the tens of thousands. Maraca's CD "Tremenda Rumba" was nominated for Best Salsa Album of the Year at the 2003 Grammy's, and Maraca has received awards for both best recording and best album at the International Music Fair Cubadisco.

Valle's flute solos are accompanied by a 10-piece band that includes a brass section of trumpets, saxophone and trombone; percussion with timbales, congas, traps, bongos and cowbell; bass guitar, keyboards and two "soneros" or improvisational singers. They play a variety of Latin genres, including Afro-Cuban salsa, cha-cha and jazz.

"People who go to their concerts, they dance with the band and they sing their music, so it's very interactive," Diaz said.

Returning to Juneau, the Seattle-based Blue 4 Trio will perform a swing music dance concert, sung in three-part harmony and backed by piano, ukulele, bass and drums. Their show begins at 9 p.m. on Friday with swing/Lindy Hop instruction preceding the dance at 8:15 p.m.

Band leader Casey MacGill plays a boogie-woogie, swing and stride style of piano reminiscent of the 1920s and '30s. He also sings, scats, plays coronet and ukulele.

"I think the harmony thing is probably the biggest card that we play," MacGill said. "The ukulele is unique and our ensemble sound is unique, but it wouldn't be nearly as interesting without the harmony singing."

Performing with MacGill will be bass player Matt Weiner and drummer Mike Daugherty.

"We really like rhythm. Most of what we play is what you would call a 'swing rhythm,' although we have a couple of rumbas and waltzes that we play," MacGill said. "But most of the songs are in that swing rhythm."

Guest dancers Colette Hebert and Richard Council are returning to Juneau to teach and perform Argentine tango.

"Tango is a very dramatic dance. Tragedy, drama, big love," Hebert said.

"This time we are going to try and focus on the close embrace, like small elements for a crowded floor. We will alternate, we will play, coming back and forth."

Hebert is French-Canadian from Montreal. She has studied and performed throughout Canada and the United States, Europe and Spain. She has also studied Argentine tango in Buenos Aires.

Tango classes will offer instruction in enganche (hooking); adornos (embellishments); wrapping (when the leg is wrapped behind); and volcada (pouring), Hebert said. They will also teach milanga, which is faster than the tango, and tango waltz.

"We always emphasize the elegance of the dance and make sure people are elegant," Hebert said. "We take great care of navigation, how you drive your way around the floor in a smart way."

Hebert is excited to return to Juneau, saying her previous experience here was "sublime."

"I have no words to tell you how incredible it was - the beautiful community of people. ... It's like we've never experienced something so warm and so close," she said.

"Felix is really high energy. He creates a party whenever he walks into a room," Haugland said. Felix Banbury Webbe will teach salsa and Afro-Cuban dance Saturday through Monday.

Originally from Guantanamo, Cuba, Webbe had a rich career in Cuba before immigrating to Alaska. He was a professor of folkloric dance with Narcisco Medina in Havana, Cuba, and performed with several important dance companies there, including Espectaculo Ibu Ana, Raices Profunda, and Banrarra. He now teaches and performs throughout Alaska.

He will both teach and perform during the evenings spotlight performances.

Rachel Lidskog sparkles when she talks about dance.

"It's is a beautiful bridge between all cultures and all ages," she said. "Dance brings together people from all different backgrounds and I love that."

Lidskog has been teaching for 20 years and was awarded the bronze medal at the Fred Astaire National Ballroom Competition in 1992. Raised in Soldotna, she now lives in Portland, Ore., and loves returning to Alaska, she said. This will be her eighth time teaching in Juneau.

Together with her partner, Jack Lim, Lidskog will teach and perform for the evening's spotlight performances.

Stephanie Griffin is a dancer, choreographer and teacher who has lived and taught in Alaska since 2001. She has trained with a variety of companies, including DanzAbierta in Cuba, Mad Shak Dance Company in Chicago, Jump Rhythm Jazz Project in Chicago and Brazz Dance in Miami.

"Stephanie has been dancing salsa and other styles in Anchorage for years and has become a really integral part of the scene up there," Haugland said.

Juneau instructors will also be teaching waltz, hula, belly dance, hip-hop and more. Instructors include Antonio Diaz and Heather Haugland, Dan and Lorinda Kassner, Bruce Botelho, Missouri Smyth, Sabrina Javier, Maren Thomas and Shawn Damerval.

Juneau DanceFest 2008 is for all ages and beginners are welcome. Tickets for classes and the evening concerts are on sale at Hearthside Books. Details are available at www.juneaudancefest.org.

• Teri Tibbett is a freelance writer and musician living in Juneau. She can be reached at www.tibbett.com.