Hispanic Heritage Month spices up Saturday night with Salsa Magic

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Students learned how to spice up their moves on the dance floor Saturday night.

Program Board organized Salsa Magic, an interactive dance party, as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. About 40 students attended the event from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday in the Bovee University Center Rotunda Room.

“I think it is an easy outlet for people to learn more about the culture,” said Paul Sullivan, PB President and Allen Park senior. “Obviously a lecture would be boring so this gives people a chance to learn about the culture and have fun at the same time,”

Saturday was the first time PB specifically sponsored a Latin dance instruction event, he said.

Salsa Magic featured interactive dance lessons in the Merengue, Bachata, and Salsa. During the dance lessons males and females were given the opportunity to learn different techniques separately as well as with dance partners.

The instructors, Lee “El Gringuito” Smith and Kat Aguilar, presented a special performance of the Bachata. The event also consisted of a salsa contest, booty shaking contest and raffle. Contest and raffle winners were awarded in $1,000 in prizes. Winners of the salsa and booty shaking contest were awarded trips to Washington D.C.

The event ended with students dancing the Cha Cha Slide hustle, Wobble hustle and Cupid Shuffle.

“On a scale of one to ten this is definitely a ten. It was difficult but really fun once you get into it a little. I had fun learning the dance and laughing at myself,” said Holt freshman Emily Marlow. “Since there was more girls than guys, I had to dance with a girl, it was kind of weird to play the guy’s-role.

Smith has traveled and taught in over 550 cities worldwide and has been featured on episodes of “Americas Got Talent,” “Ambush Makeover,” and on Telemundo and Univision.

Smith was a magician before he started teaching Latin dance. His Afro-Cuban class inspired him to teach dance and learn more about Latin culture.

He started Salsa Magic nine years ago, and said Saturday’s event was a success.

“Everyone did awesome,” Smith said. “It is really hard to learn three different dances in one day. So we had to break it up into segments and give them a sort of buffet in the three most popular dances in Latin culture.”