Cuban Salsa Night has returned this semester, offering students free Latin dance lessons.
The club meets at 8 p.m. Wednesdays in Watson Lounge in Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel.
Tomer Butnaru, acting senior, begins each class by teaching basic steps and combinations to new dancers. Following this initial lesson, the class moves on to a dance party in which members can practice new moves and work on more advanced steps.
All levels of dancers are welcome to every class. Participants are free to drop in at any time during the night.
“Cuban Salsa is very accessible and easy to learn,” Butnaru said. “We get new people each week because it’s fun and simple. There’s no pressure to perform well.”
Butnaru first attended a salsa dance club at his university in Jerusalem through the international program Media Noche, which offers free salsa lessons and promotes a policy of community through creativity.
Butnaru missed the club and the sense of community it offered after he came to OCU.
“The warm environment really helps to loosen everyone up and bring us together to learn something new,” Butnaru said. “There are two rules with Media Noche. One, if you won’t do it, it won’t happen, meaning you have to go after what you really want. And two, if you know something, teach someone. That really inspired me to start the club here.”
Butnaru met last semester with Student Government Association members to find locations for the club to meet. John Willems, marketing junior and student senator, encouraged Butnaru to make the club an official campus organization. Cuban Salsa Night continued to meet during the summer, gaining new members this academic year.
Butnaru said he hopes the club will continue to expand this semester.
“This is social dancing, not ballroom dancing,” Butnaru said. “We want people to come in and just have fun learning something new and dancing with new people, making friends.”
Sarah Kuhlmann, vocal performance freshman, said she enjoys the relaxation and community Cuban Salsa Night provides.
“It’s a lot of fun and really laid back,” Kuhlmann said. “I love learning about a new kind of dance that I never would have had the opportunity to experience otherwise. It’s a great way to spend a Wednesday night.”
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