On a cold, almost rainy night during midterms, it is not common
for dressed-up college students to find anything to celebrate, but
a glitzy dance and salsa lessons were enough of an excuse for them
to drop their books for one night.
The fifth-annual Big Salsa Night attracted over 400 students,
staff and alumni Monday night, for salsa and cha-cha dancing with
famed Cuban drummer Francisco Aguabella and his Latin Jazz
Ensemble.
Big Salsa Night was sponsored by the Ballroom Dance and
International Folk Dance Club, a student group dedicated to
fostering a dance community among students and staff through the
music of many different dance styles.
The club holds weekly dance lessons to introduce swing, salsa,
tango and waltz, as well as other line and circle dances from
around the world.
The night began at 8, as Ackerman Grand Ballroom filled with
women and men preparing to learn salsa dancing, some of them for
the first time.
Several “left foot forward, right foot back”
instructions later, the room was brimming with aspiring salsa
dancers.
“It was really confusing ““ (my dance partner) was
moving really fast,” said Erin Cahill, a third-year English
student, as she practiced her moves with a partner.
“It’s more about just having fun and getting out of
the (house). … I mean, why not learn how to dance salsa?”
she added.
Many attendees were there to learn the craft, although some had
prior dance experience.
Devonne Johnson, a third-year theater student, said she had
dance lessons while living in Santa Barbara before she came to
UCLA.
Johnson, however, insisted on coming to the event because it was
“definitely more about getting out and being a part of the
social scene,” she said.
Within an hour, the anticipation had built up for the main
attraction ““ dancing to the salsa and cha-cha rhythms of
Aguabella and his band.
“I think it’s wonderful (to have Aguabella
performing). His band is great, and it’s just really nice to
have live music as opposed to playing a CD,” said Carrie-Lynn
Morgan, a third-year psychology and English student and member of
the Ballroom Dance and International Folk Dance Club.
In addition to performing, Aguabella also teaches Afro-Cuban
music as an adjunct professor in the UCLA Ethnomusicology
Department.
Aguabella left his native Cuba in 1954 to perform in the Italian
film “Mambo,” starring Shelley Winters, before finally
coming to the U.S. in 1959. He has performed with other well-known
artists, such as Frank Sinatra, Carlos Santana and Paul Simon.
As the music enticed more people to make their way to the dance
floor, potential soulmates and Rico Suaves made their moves to find
a dance partner.
Soon the ballroom seemed filled with dance partners moving to
the upbeat rhythms of the band.
Among the practiced dancers, one of the club’s volunteer
dancing instructors, Cynthia Harper, wore her shimmering salsa
outfit and a smile on her face.
“We have all kinds of events with different dancing, but
this is our largest event of the year. It’s a great way to
socialize and bring a lot of different people together,”
Harper said.
“Compared to other events at UCLA, (this event) seemed
like a fun time, a good experience, and a great way to expose
myself to new and different music,” said Malorie Barbee, a
first-year biology student.