Salsa dancers swing to the beat

By Brittany Benjamin

Under the cold cover of moonlight, dancers of all ages kept warm beneath heat lamps, spotlights and through a radiating salsa rhythm that heated the body from the inside out. Friday night's event, "Bring Your Own Salsa," brought students and salsa-lovers together.

The event, hosted by the Center of Performing Arts, started when about 40 students sporting flip flops and sweatshirts gathered on O'Connor lawn for a brief introduction to basic salsa dancing.

Throughout the lesson, the crowd grew as members of the San Jose and Santa Clara communities came to join in the festivities and listen to Mazacote, a salsa and Latin jazz band who played at the event.

After a brief individual warm-up to start the event, instructor Amanda Lowrey, senior and co-captain of the Salsa Club, split the crowd down the middle into men and women, or leaders and followers. One random member from each group came together to create a dancing pair.

"This is like middle school all over again," one woman in the crowd said.

Complete strangers were coupled and were now dancing together.

"The couples that don't know each other look so awkward," sophomore Dave Gamache said.

Meanwhile, a group of older onlookers watched the beginners. As salsa veterans with no need for a lesson in basic salsa, they were waiting for Mazacote to take the stage.

These local residents call themselves the Salseras. The Salseras are salsa fanatics who travel around the area following salsa music and events.

"He could find this with his eyes closed," said Charlie Davis about Rick Serrano, both Salseras. "He's like the Popeye of salsa. He can just smell it."

As the Salseras watched, inexperienced couples continued to learn the basics of salsa dance.

One unconventional couple included Maria Arraya and her partner, Greg Angelos.

Arraya is in her late fifties and works as an administrative assistant in Counseling and Psychological Services. Angelos is a sophomore student. Arraya, whose feet continued to dance in time to the music even while she was being interviewed, said she enjoys dancing to all Spanish music.

Despite the age difference, the couple enjoyed the music as well as each other's company.

"I'm having a great time dancing with her," Angelos said.

After the initial awkwardness wore off, it seemed as though all the couples became more comfortable with each other, as well as with the music.

"I love to dance, no matter who it's with," said freshman Giovanni Campos, who was randomly paired with his junior partner, Grace Nixon.

It was when Mazacote finally took the stage at about 8 p.m. that the Salseras and other community members stepped into the spotlight that illuminated the lawn. The crowd had grown to more than 80 people.

Mazacote is a hard-swinging, old-school salsa band led by the direction of percussionist Louie Romero. The band is based out of San Francisco and is renowned for playing a mixture of classic salsa and original Latin jazz.

In awe of the dance talent of the older, more experienced community members, the student dancers were left watching from the back.

Junior Dan Sumpter took salsa lessons from a community studio several years ago. Having forgotten many of the steps, he hardly considered himself to be on the level of any of the community dancers. However, he did recognize a familiar face.

"I think I saw my dance instructor there. He was such a player and dancing with a new girl every song," Sumpter said.

By the second dance, students forgot that they didn't know the steps and began to dance, letting the music move their feet.

For the rest of the night, the area in front of the stage was flooded with dancers of all ages.

Lowrey, who organized the salsa dance lesson at the request of the CPA, was pleased with the turnout.

"I love how many ages and age groups have come out tonight," she said. "It's just amazing to see the community come together and enjoy themselves."

Contact Brittany Benjamin at (408) 551-1918 or brbenjamin@scu.edu.