Jose Ricardo-Osorio, the associate dean of the College of Education and Human Services at Shippensburg University, directed a salsa class in the Ceddia Union Building (CUB) on Friday evening.
About 31 people attended the event. Most students came dressed in casual clothing, while others came dressed in skirts and heels.
Ricardo-Osorio began the class by starting from scratch. Before playing music, he asked the students to try and salsa dance without him teaching them any moves first. Afterward, Ricardo-Osorio began to teach everyone how to properly salsa dance.
He taught the students the steps — moving side-to-side as well as back and forth — having them try with and without the music playing. Most of the students got used to it quickly and loosened up, creating a fun and engaging environment.
Ricardo-Osorio informed the crowd that salsa originated from Africa, and it was all about dancing to the percussion. He played music and asked the students to try and identify the beat and begin stepping to it. Moving around the crowd with a speaker in hand, Ricardo-Osorio helped those who were struggling a bit. Afterward, the class learned to incorporate upper-body movement into the steps.
Safety was also a subject of conversation in the class. Ricardo-Osorio informed the students that rather than stepping normally, they should step on the ball of their foot so they would not hurt themselves.
After a water break, the class moved onto more advanced salsa dancing. Ricardo-Osorio taught the students how to step and turn smoothly to the music, as well as moving forward and backward as a group.
Toward the end of the class, Ricardo-Osorio told everyone to incorporate their own moves into the sequence. People danced together, some spun around, and many other creative ideas were brought into the cultural dance.
Ricardo-Osorio then went over the entire sequence of the dance with everyone and combined it all together with the music. Students were laughing, and there was a great sense of community and togetherness during the class.
There will be another class on Oct. 21, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., as well as a Halloween party hosted by Ricardo-Osorio on Oct. 31 at the same time. All who plan to attend are encouraged to come dressed up for Halloween.
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