Shannon KeoughCabrini’s Office of Student Diversity hosted Salsa Magic on Sept. 23.
The stage was set in Grace Hall. A runway jutted out into the dance floor, the marble of the atrium. The lights were bouncing off the tiles and walls in all colors of the rainbow. The music was pounding from the first minute people walked in.
“I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” Melissa Todd, sophomore elementary education major, said. “Once I got there I forgot about my papers and tests and really had fun.”
Students found out it was a celebration of Latino Heritage Month, which extends from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The event began with salsa instruction from DJ and emcee Lee Edward Smith Jr. and his assistant, Christina. Not only was the event itself called Salsa Magic, but the company is, too.
Salsa Magic is a company out of Washington D.C., owned and operated by Smith. Smith travels the country and performs not only at colleges and universities, but at businesses also.
One of his biggest shows took place at Coors Field in Denver for 6,000 Microsoft employees. Salsa Magic was nominated for best novelty artist of the year by the American College Personnel Association.
“The moves were easy to learn and fun,” Kadee Schwalm, sophomore business major, said. “I learned the steps and wanted to show them off. We learned shuffles, spins and some great partnering work.”
Schwalm and other students did get to show off their dance moves. The floor opened up and played the best music of today, as well as Latin hits. While there may not have been a lot of students at the start, there was a steady flow coming in through the doors as the night went on.
“Hopefully we can have this company come in again next year with twice as many people in attendance,” Melissa Waters, Director of the Office of Student Diversity, said,
