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The Latin American Association brought dancing and snacks with "Salsa Con Salsa." (Credit: Jonathan Itskovitch)

Salsa Con Salsa: A night to remember

Salsa con salsa
The Latin American Association brought dancing and snacks with “Salsa Con Salsa.” (Credit: Jonathan Itskovitch)

It was truly a relief to take students’ minds off of the exams and projects coming up this hectic week. On Wednesday night, the Latin American Association was able to accomplish just that by hosting the Salsa Con Salsa event in Hayden Lounge. It was a night to remember for sure, and in a good way. There were chips, salsa, and soda for everyone to snack on. The salsa music played in the background, setting an ambiance that created an integrating experience. Most people had never danced salsa before, but the Salsa Con Salsa night showed participants of all experience levels how to do each move the right way. To boot, the dance instructor was a Stevens graduate who was able to relate to everyone very well.

The night began with learning the simplest steps. There were five: Basic Step, Suzy Q, Cross Basic, Left and Right turns.  The instructor demonstrated how to do each step slowly several times and assisted anyone who was having difficulties. Each move was different but shared similar characteristics, typical for various styles of dance. In the 8-beat rhythm scale, moves were always performed on beats 1-3 and 5-7. Beats 4 and 8 had a pause. After learning each move, the moves were applied to music. The salsa music went at a very quick pace so it was easy to slip a beat occasionally. However, most caught on with time and enjoyed themselves moving to the groove.

There was a short, 10-minute break before moving onto the partner-dancing portion of the night. Members of the Latin American Association were eager to introduce themselves to those who attended and made everyone feel welcome. The chips and salsa location became a popular spot for everyone. After ten minutes or so, the dance instructor called everyone back and the partner dancing began. The guys lined themselves up and the girls lined themselves the other way, so they were facing each other.  After several intervals, the girls rotated around to try moves with a new partner. During the dancing, the guys would have to mirror the girls and move in the opposite direction. The guy would also have to hold the girl in a “close position” in which his right hand touched her left shoulder, and his left hand and her right hand were clasped. This was the case unless the guy was spinning the girl around. He then would have to “prepare” the girl on the previous beat by changing to a “shaking hands” position.

The night ended with a 15-minute freestyle period. People could dance to the salsa music however they wanted. Most chose to stay with partner dancing because they wanted to learn to do it correctly. This was more complicated than individual dancing.

Salsa Con Salsa was a fun time filled with food and dancing and was also an educational experience.

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