Shall we dance?
The sounds and steps of tango kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month on Sept. 18 at GCSU. The Tango Gala brought instructors Rick and Lynda Wilson to Milledgeville to give students a taste of a new kind of dance.
The gala was held in Magnolia Ballroom, and members of the Salsa and Latin Dance Club facilitated the event.
“We’ve never offered it and we wanted to learn,” Melissa Rorick, co-president, said.
Tango dancing piqued the interest of two of the club’s members who attended the Wilsons’ workshop in Atlanta. Co-president Rebekka Ragusa was one of the members who attended the class and she said she thoroughly enjoyed it. She thought it would be a good activity to bring to GCSU.
“It’s not necessarily a set thing you have to feel while dancing. It’s refreshing,” Ragusa said. “We decided it would definitely interest people.”
With the help of the Latino Student Association and the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, the event was offered free of charge to the public. Dancers both young and old were able to take part in the lesson.
“They normally charge $10 a person, so we wanted to bring it to campus,” Rorick said.
The Wilsons teach tango at the Atlanta Ballroom Dance Center and brought 13 years of teaching experience to the table. They both love tango for different reasons and come from dance backgrounds.
“(My favorite part) is helping people realize the freedom of movement and joy of music,” Lynda said.
Tango has a way of bringing people together and approximately 30 people came out last Friday night to learn the ropes. Some were regulars, others came for the first time.
“I’ve been going since the first night. It was a must for me,” Sean Corbett, a freshman creative writing major, said. “I love dance and Hispanic culture.”
Students found learning a new form of dance rewarding. Freshman chemistry major Amelia Zuver came to the gala to “learn a partner dance you’ll be able to do forever.”
The Wilsons explained the different tempos of tango and offered three demonstrations before delving into the basics. They showed everyone what they would learn, dancing with nearly soundless steps that gave the appearance of gliding.
They stressed the importance of standing tall and taught their eager students to shift their weight and listen for the rhythm. Dancers were attracted to the sounds and movements of the genre.
“It’s really the rhythm and emotion and the art of it all,” Corbett said.
As the night went on, they moved on to perfecting the glide across the floor, and paired up with partners. The male to female ratio was nearly even, allowing everyone to have a chance to dance with someone of the opposite sex.
No Latin dance lesson would be complete without a little Spanish lesson. Terms such as “alta” (tall), “derecho” (straight) and “tranquilo” (calm) were interspersed throughout the evening.
After learning the basics, the dancers practiced their new moves, prodded along by gentle coaching from the Wilsons. They danced in a circle around the perimeter of the floor and eventually spread out to take up the center. The lesson was kept informal and the Wilsons openly answered people’s questions.
“There’s no freaking out in tango!” Lynda said.
Students left with newfound knowledge and experience with a new activity that many had never tried before.
The gala was the first event to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 – Oct. 15. Other upcoming events include a lecture on the Latino student experience, a Hispanic/Latino symposium and another night of Latin dance and music.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Sep 25 2009. Filed under Features.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
