Nearly 200 students packed The Nugget last Wednesday to get a taste of salsa — dancing, that is.
The Cal State Long Beach Salsa Club held free salsa lessons to promote its organization and to introduce students to the Afro-Caribbean-based dance. The external vice president of the club, Jennifer Diaz, was astonished by the turnout.
“Normally we have about 30 students show up,” she said. “This is way more than we had expected.”
Couples entered two by two; women in heels, men in jeans and tennis shoes. Some women came with a cluster of friends dressed in sweats and sandals. Others curiously walked in with books and backpacks and eventually joined the dance floor with everyone else. As the room continued to fill and more students skipped in, arms linked and bearing smiles, club founder Kevin Ngo took the stage.
Ngo doubled as the master of ceremonies and dance instructor for the night. He encouraged the crowd to forget about everything outside, have some fun, feel the music and dance, throwing a mix of salsa and merengue steps at the crowd throughout the night.
CSULB alumna Anjali Attkins comes back to campus just for the salsa classes.
“I love to come hear and relax after I’ve been working all day,” Attkins said. “It’s cheaper to come here than to take other salsa classes.”
Other CSULB alumni, faculty and staff members come to classes regularly.
Rithy Hanh, a senior biology major, has danced with the club for three years.
“I love it a lot. Biology is so stressful but this is so stress-free,” Hanh said. “Because of this club, I’ve been dancing salsa almost every single week.”
Internal Vice President Sean Rynerson said the focus of the club is to “make sure everyone has a fun time.” Regardless of the skill level, age group, major or knowledge of the dance, the atmosphere seemed to be the most important part of the entire event.
The large turnout has the club starting off very excited about beginning instruction. Classes take place every Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. in The Nugget.
The Salsa Club charges $25 for the entire semester — 10 to 12 classes — and $4 for drop-ins. In past years the cost was $20, but in order to keep up with increases everywhere, the club raised its fees. The money pays for certain venues, dance instructors, ballrooms, DJ expenses, promotional events and live bands.
For more information and photos, visit CSULB Salsa or become a fan of the club on Facebook.