During tutorial on April 26, students and teachers gathered in Driscoll Commons to receive Latin dance lessons from the US Assistant, Aja Parham. More specifically, Parham focused on teaching Bachata and Salsa, two specific types of Latin dance, each with their own movements. Students and teachers alike swayed and shook their hips to a specially curated playlist that Parham had made for the event. Students would cheer as Parham would demonstrate new moves before trying them out for themselves. This large dance lesson existed as a precursor to the Cinco de Mayo celebration, which will take place on May 1 this year.

“I used to do Latin dance almost every night in college. It certainly was a workout: I was a lot slimmer back then than I am now,” Parham said, laughing.

“I chose to go to the dance lessons because I’ve been learning Latin dance from Isabel [Saavedra-Weis] for the last six months, so I wanted to learn more and also experience other people trying to figure it out,” said Mashal Naqvi, junior.

Gallery • 7 Photos

Kelby Wittenberg

Aja Parham begins her demonstration on how to salsa.