The rhythm of salsa filled the air at the Northern Essex Community College Lawrence campus on Friday, Sept. 25, where beginners and advanced dancers alike came together to learn new steps, share cultural traditions, and dance the night away.
The organizer for this amazing event was Maria Hernandez, Director of International Student Support and Special Populations who has taken part in creating different events as part of the Hispanic Heritage Month to bring cultural traditions, and awareness to everyone within the NECC community.
“As Latinos we grew up going to parties, going to weddings and there is always music; music and food so that was a way of me trying to bring the NECC community and the Lawrence community together to celebrate us” Hernandez said.
The evening began with a salsa history lesson while enjoying food from Coco Rays, a local restaurant, followed by a step-by-step lesson with instructor and NECC alum Mary De Jesus. De Jesus graduated from nursing here at NECC 25 years ago and has been a salsa instructor for 10 years.
“I started in 2010 as a student, in 2014 I started as an assistant, and in 2015 I started a salsa mingle group and that’s when I got interested in teaching myself” De Jesus said. Her years of experience as a salsa instructor combined with the quick and easy steps provided by De Jesus made everyone feel that learning salsa was much easier than they ever thought possible.
De Jesus explains how her flexibility helps her adapt to every student’s needs on the dance floor “That’s how I advertise my class and I set myself apart from the other classes because I kind of shred it into little pieces and I start that way. I also pay a lot of attention in how the person individually gets the very first instructions because if they are not getting it, I change my ways” De Jesus said.
By the end of the night, everyone was enjoying the music and putting their new dancing skills to work. Assistant Coordinator of Student Life Brianna Sorensen was one of the staff members that shared the night with students, and the Lawrence community “I was nervous to try salsa dancing because the steps always look so fast and beautiful, but I was surprised to learn how easily you can take a simple rhythm and apply it to different steps to pick it up quickly and try new, harder steps. I even was able to try spins and dancing with a partner by the end of the night” Brianna said.
Ultimately, salsa night at NECC was a success. Students, staff, and community shared food along with a night where they learned the history of salsa, learned new moves, and got to put those moves to the test on the dance floor.
Salsa night is one of many events facilitated or hosted by NECC in honor of Hispanic Heritage month in an effort to show their commitment to inclusivity and representation.
VP of Students Services Joanne Landers expresses what their thoughts are on the process of organizing events such as salsa night “I see it as a celebration of culture I think every day is a day to celebrate someone’s culture whatever that culture is specially that this is Hispanic Heritage Month we’re in Lawrence. Lawrence is such a heavily Hispanic neighborhood why not do something? To celebrate our students, celebrate the community and just allow people to have fun”.
If you missed this event, don’t worry you will have another chance to experience a night of cultural enrichment at the closing event for Hispanic Heritage Month. ¡La Fiesta! – Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration is happening on Oct. 15 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m at Dimitry (L Building) – 1st Floor Atrium NECC Lawrence Campus.