Salsa dancing's heating up in Logan
By Erin Anderson
March 4, 2004 | I have been dancing for several years. I have tried ballet, modern, jazz and even ballroom. I have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of all these dance forms, but none of them seemed a perfect fit. I became bored with the rigid rules on steps and form and felt that there was little room for individual creativity.
Then I discovered salsa in a Latin Club in a remote back alley in San Diego. The first time I saw it the dancers were amazing, the music was irresistible, the movement was mesmerizing and by the end of the evening I was completely hooked. I became what you might call an absolutely crazed salsaholic. Unfortunately, there were no salsa clubs in Logan and my friends and I had to travel to Provo for good salsa dancing. Then we decided to bring salsa to Utah State University by establishing the Salsa Club. The response was enthusiastic, and I was delighted to see that my passion was shared by others.
Jarod Younker, vice president of the Salsa Club, said the first time he saw salsa was in San Lorenzo, Argentina, while serving a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"After that I was fascinated by the music and the entire feel of the dance," Younker said.
After he returned from his mission a friend invited him to go to Club Omni in Salt Lake City. He said he went but had no idea what he was doing. He had a date the next night to go to Club Mambo and wanted to appear more experienced. He spent the whole next day on the Bust a Move Web site, dancing in front of his computer trying to learn dance moves.
"I figured I better know what I was doing," Younker said. "After that night, I was addicted."
That was in January of 2000 and he has been dancing salsa ever since. He has danced along the Wasatch Front, in Los Angeles, in New York City, and in Vancouver.
He said there are many reasons why he loves salsa dancing.
"I love the beautiful women you can dance with and the ease with which you can integrate moves from other dances into salsa. Also, salsa is a lot more showy than other forms of dance. It's not boring," Younker said.
He said he also loves salsa music.
"The rhythm drives you. It gives its own life to the dance. It took me a year to get the rhythm down and really feel it. Now I have it, I listen to salsa all day," Younker said.
Shanlee Robertson, a senior majoring in family consumer science, said she has tried other forms of dancing such as belly dancing and ballroom and says that salsa is a lot more social and flirtatious.
"It takes a lot of skill but just about anyone can fudge their way through it. It is a good experience for anyone to try," Robertson said. She said with salsa there is something for everyone from beginning to advanced dancers.
"You're always trying new things. It's not something you have to learn to step to. It's something you can experiment with," Robertson said. "In a way you can let yourself go. It is a place to go and have fun with people around you. There are no expectations for perfection; as long as you try something and play with it, you are guaranteed to have fun."
Mike Olsen, a junior majoring in math education, said he became addicted to salsa dancing because he had a lot of friends who went to Latin night at Skyline on Saturday nights and invited him to come along. He said it interested him because he had served a Spanish-speaking mission for the LDS Church in Venezuela.
He also has dance experience in ballroom dancing and says salsa dancing is different.
"It is easier to learn socially. A lot more people get into it faster. You can have one simple lesson on the basic and you're dancing salsa." It takes more to learn other dances, Olsen said.
He said he went back to Venezuela last summer with some basic knowledge of merengue and salsa and was eager to dance. But he found that his salsa technique was very different from the Venezuelans' Cumbia style and they were laughing at him. But then they played some merengue music and they loved his merengue. They were amazed that a gringo, an American, knew how to dance.
Arieh Steinlauf, president of Salsa Club, said he loves salsa because he thinks it is the easiest of all the social dances. A person can learn the basics and after that it is not very hard to learn more complicated moves.
"The type of people it attracts is a bonus, people with no inhibitions," Steinlauf said.
He said he likes the rhythm of the music and the Latin instruments they use such as cow bells, moroccas, claves, congos and bongos.
Steinlauf said he started Salsa Club to spread the joy of salsa in the Logan community while encouraging cultural diversity. He said Dance Sabana, an evening of social dancing held one Friday a month, was a test to see how salsa and Latin music appealed to people in Logan.
"Since we were successful, it was the match that started the fire," Steinlauf said. He said they have only held it three times and they already have about 50 people who attend.
Steinlauf's advice to people who are thinking about joining Salsa Club or coming to Dance Sabana is to not be intimidated.
"I's easy. You're just walking with style," Steinlauf said.
He also said Salsa Club is a romantic, safe and laid back atmosphere and no partners are required.
The Salsa Club is on Wednesdays from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. in room 102 of the HPER Building on campus. Anyone is welcome and it is free.
Dance Sabana is sponsored by the Salsa Club. They have salsa lessons from 8 to 8:45 p.m. for $2 and people can dance the rest of the night for free or they can come from 8:45 to 11:30 p.m. and pay $3 at the door. The next Dance Sabana nights will be March 19 and April 23.
Information on the Salsa Club can be found at salsa@cc.usu.edu. For Dance Sabana information, contact dancesabana@hotmail.com.
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