Latin flavor filled the Commonwealth Ballrooms in the Universitie’s Student Commons Wednesday night at Second Rhythms Y Movimientos: African Rhythms Through Latin Dance, sponsored by VCU’s own Latin Student Association.
The program consisted of a background history on Latin dances including salsa, merengue, bachata and capoeira, followed by a performance of each dance.
Jahnissi Tirado, president of LSA, said that the evening was an “opportunity to show what we’re [LSA] about.”
Adell Barrow and Ernesto Obando hosted the night’s program. The dancers this year were both old and new – some alumni and some current students, all of whom were eager to help with the participation of such a growing event. Each dance was performed on the spot to present a more social dancing atmosphere.
Amberlyn Sasser, part of the night’s salsa duo and also a student, said, ” We kinda made it up on the stage!” She and her partner, Edwin, practice ballroom dancing everyday. For them, spreading salsa up on stage was no sweat.
Tirado is aiming high for next year’s crowd. This year’s crowd was larger than he expected. Next year, LSA hopes to attract more students with fun, information, and a dance party with music afterwards. Of course no party would be complete without refreshments-the event provided some of that too!
The Latin organization’s upcoming events in March include a women’s history month event which will pay tribute to influential Latinas from the 1950’s to the present, a Latin dance workshop and a How to Survive in a Spanish-Speaking Country event.