The Latino Cultural Society hosted their annual fundraiser, the Latin Dance Festival, Saturday, March 28 in Alumni Hall. The festival was open to the public and showcased over 18 performances.
Dances performed were the bachata, merengue, salsa, reggaeton, Colombian cumbia, tango, strolling, hip-hop and flamenco.
Proceeds from the dance festival will go to the “Health Horizons International Foundation” which provides medical care to the impoverished people in the Dominican Republic. The money will also be put towards the alternative spring break trip the Albert Schweitzer Institute hosts in Leon, Nicaragua, every year.
The evening began with basic salsa steps. Scheduled performers presented the moves, and the audience was encouraged to participate.
“I expected more audience participation. I even wore these pants so I could dance,” sophomore Raven Dufoe, decked out in dancing gear, said at intermission.
Junior Christine Medlock said that this was her first time at an event like this. She said she came because the admitted students who were staying the night wanted to experience the culture Quinnipiac has to offer.
“The more cultural, the better,” Dufoe said when asked if she thought more cultural events should be hosted on campus.
“These dancers do this for nothing, and they prepare for this event almost every night,” freshman Christine Jacquez, a member of the Latino Cultural Society, said. “I’ve been watching some of the Quinnipiac performers who started to prepare even before winter break, it’s really intense.”
President of the Latino Cutlural Society Daniela DeSousa rushed around between performances, making sure everything was going as planned.
“We’ll take anything,” DeSousa said when asked how much money they needed to raise for the night.
Quinnipiac freshman performer Crystal Perez, who is also a member of Dance Fusion, said the event encourages more diversity here on campus.
“I think this event is great,” she said. “After all the diversity issues on campus last semester, I think we need more cultural diversity at Quinnipiac.”
