Founding year:

2006

Founders:

Garrett English

Creation:

Salsa Club originally began as a 30 person CIO, and the organization met in the Spanish House, but over the years the group moved to the Engineering School and then Ern Commons and the Student Activities Building as the club kept growing.

Structure:

Salsa Club is comprised of an executive board, salsa instructors, and members of the club. There are about 12 instructors, - 6 leads and 6 follows - one president, one lead instructor, one artistic director, one events coordinator, one treasurer, one secretary, one social chair, and one unofficial marketing chair. These positions are essential to ensure that Salsa Club and all events function smoothly. General members are able to attend lessons, social events, and participate in the Salsa Showcase at the end of each semester.

Efforts:

The University Salsa Club holds lessons, Showcase, SalsaFest, and Weeklies to teach and show members of the University community the importance of dance and cultural awareness!

Lessons (every Monday, 8-10pm)

• They focus on teaching primarily salsa and bachata, as well as cha-cha
• They focus on providing students with an intro to Latin dancing. Their goal is to teach its members social dancing moves so that they can use those for the rest of their lives
• Beginner lesson at 8:00pm, Intermediate lesson at 9:00pm

Showcase (every semester, usually in November and April)

• Students choreograph and club members audition to be in a dance.
• Showcase usually involves 60-80 members every semester

Salsa Fest (once a year, usually in February)

• The annual University Salsa Fest is the University Salsa Club’s biggest events, bringing together students, professional instructors, performers, and community members from all over the East Coast.
• The goal of the University Salsa Fest is to promote Hispanic heritage and diversity awareness, while also giving many individuals the opportunity to attend 8 instructional workshops for an affordable price.
• Salsa Fest is an all-day event, comprised of 8 workshops of different styles of dances during the day and an after-party with performances from student dance groups and professional dance groups at night.
• The main objective of this event is to provide students and members of surrounding communities with the opportunity to attend a Salsa Congress-like event for an affordable price, while still maintaining dance integrity.
• This event supports the mission of the organization by promoting and instructing Latin dance styles for UVA and the surrounding community.

Weeklies (every Friday, 2-3pm)

• A 1-hour workshop aimed to give club members an opportunity to learn in a less intense setting. A smaller group attends Weeklies, so it’s a great way to get to know instructors and improve in a more personalized setting.

Information collected through an interview with Louise Andematten (C/O 2019)