The red hues of the tablecloths and the flickering light of the candles epitomized sensuality. The Tabler Arts Center was completely transformed for the event Two to Tango.
Held in honor of Hispanic Heritage month, Two to Tango required more than two to pull off. The event that incorporated the Ballroom Dance Team also included refreshments for those who attended. The advisor of the Ballroom Dance team, Jeremy Marchese, said the event was a “different way to make weekend life exciting.”
The evening began with the Ballroom Dance team’s first performance of the night: the jive. Immediately after, the second performance began: the Salsa. The Cha Cha, with its Cuban origin, was the third performance. The dancers informed the audience that the title of the dances they performed come from the noise the dancer’s feet make. As the dancers moved rhythmically, Lady Gaga’s song “Teeth” juxtaposed their feet as it blared in the background.
After the three different styles of Latin dance, there was a break for refreshments. The chips and salsa, quesadillas and empanadas were fitting energy sources for the festivities that followed. The dancers taught those in attendance different styles of dance through a repetitive process. First, the basic idea of the dance was explained. Then the men, or the leads of the dance steps, parted to one end of the stage, as the women, or the followers of the dance steps, parted to the opposite side. This happened almost as quickly as a middle school slow dance cliché.
The couples paired off promptly, and even switched partners occasionally with the coaxing of Ballroom Dance members, which caused inevitable mingling among different pairs. When a couple was paired, they tried the steps at a casual pace a couple times. Once every couple had the basic idea, the steps were paired with the music. Colette Vaughan, a sophomore and member of the Arts Culture and Humanities, or ACH, council and a leader of the Ballroom Dance team, said, “ACH Council was thinking about doing something for Hispanic Heritage Month and Ballroom has done a lot for Hispanic Heritage [events] so I offered to help out.”
Asmita Das, a junior and psychology major, came to watch and dance because she said she’s “always been into Latin American dancing.” The black chairs were filled so nearly to capacity that some students actually had to sit by an unfamiliar person rather than leave that in-between seat barrier.
Through the performances and the lessons of the Merengue, Bachata, and Salsa (both the dancing and the snack), Marchese said the goal of this ACH event was to “combine the arts and get students to do something fun at the same time.” The performances started with two people, but as the performances began to wind down, it turned into a varied collection of people mingling.
