Spotlight Number 1: Salsa Dancing
I’ve been learning Indian classical Kathak and Bollywood filmi dance since I was 5 years old. While traveling extensively to Mexico, and the Caribbean including Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, Haiti, and Costa Rica, I was lured into Latin dancing.
My first exposure was when I decided to enroll my roommate and I in an Introduction to Salsa class for my first semester physical education class at Cornell University. Immediately, I realized that the Salsa community is an open and extremely friendly one. My overall mood was uplifted, and I loved the concept of being able to dance with a partner.
Soon later during my sophomore year winter break, I vacationed on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas and participated in Salsa dance night literally every night with my cousins and best friends. With many of the passengers from the Latin background, I was immediately inspired to take my Salsa dancing interest to the next level.
After coming back to Cornell for the next semester, I immediately joined the Palante Salsa Dance Troupe with one of my close friends. We went to practice every week- let me tell you, it was the best "engineering work break." We even hit up the local Mexican bistro in Ithaca, AGAVA, where they hosted Salsa nights every Wednesday. With fabulous drinks, and my instructor spinning the finest of Salsa and Latin music repertoire, every Wednesday night was one to look forward to.
During my summer vacation, while I interned at Bank of America, I attended the Salsa Princeton classes at Princeton University on Tuesday evenings! The instructors are great and it's a really awesome experience for anyone who wants to give Salsa dancing a try and are in the Central Jersey area.
The great thing about Salsa dancing is that it can stay so paradoxically diverse worldwide, but can be unified at the same time. There is a tremendous amount of energy and emotion in the lyrics. Now, while I don't want to become a professional dancer, Salsa for me is just a great pass time interest. Imagine sitting in a local tapas cafe in Spain, and then immediately dancing to the rhythm of Salsa music.