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Exposure provides a forum for student groups and area non-profits at Michigan State University and the Greater Lansing area. On the show, you'll hear discussions about the groups themselves as well as the relevant issues of today.
This is exposures on Impact 89 FM.
Jonathon:W DBM East Lansing.
Tessa Kresch:The show that lets you know about everything that goes on at the MSU campus that you otherwise might not know about. Tune in every Sunday at 9 AM. I'm your host, Tessa Creusch. Welcome to exposure. Hello.
Tessa Kresch:Hello. And welcome back to exposure. You are listening to season 15. I'm your host, Tessa Kresch. Today, we're taking a closer look at the MSU salsa club, a group that brings Latin dance to the MSU campus.
Tessa Kresch:Open to students and the local community, the club offers instruction in salsa dancing and creates a unique social space where people can connect through movement and rhythm. Joining me are Jonathan, Ishaan, Sierra, and Olivia. Thank you guys so much for being here.
Ishan:Yeah. Thank you for having us.
Jonathon:Thanks so much for having us. Here.
Tessa Kresch:Of course. Could you guys start out by introducing yourselves?
Jonathon:Yeah. I'm Jonathan. I've been a member of the club for about, little over a year and a half now, I think. I graduated from MSU about a year ago with a focus on game development, and, yeah, just been a general member ever since.
Ishan:Yeah. Hi. My name is Ishan. I've been a member for two and a half years now, and I'm a PhD student in computer science. And, yeah, I just sort of have been coming to salsa cup pretty regularly for the last, like, 2 couple years now.
Sierra:I'm Sierra. I started around the same time as Jonathan, actually. I think I remember meeting him, like, within my first lesson or 2, which is really funny. I am a senior here in undergrad, and I study communication. I have a business org focus, if that is relevant.
Sierra:And, yeah, I'm a general member. I'm don't hold any positions or anything, but we go every week, every Wednesday, and then most of us also go on Tuesdays. So there's an additional little dancing experience for us.
Olivia:Oh, I can't wait to hear more. Hey, guys. I'm Olivia. I've been president of Salsa Club for about 2 years now, and I am wrapping up my senior semester. I graduate in about 3 weeks, so I'm really excited with a degree in microbiology.
Tessa Kresch:All of these majors are absolutely not what I was expecting for the salsa club. Would you say it's pretty general to have majors all over the map?
Ishan:Oh, yeah. All the time. It's it's like I think everybody I've met has always told me a different major, and I'm just like, oh, wow. That's cool. So
Sierra:I agree. I think too, like, the vice president, I know he's a premed major. He's, like, human bio on that track. And then I know other people who are computer science majors. It's really funny because we have no common interest.
Sierra:Like, I mean, we do because we dance, but in terms of our, like, focus and our studies, like, we are so different. So what drew you guys personally to salsa club?
Jonathon:Well, for me, I was actually looking for just any form of dance for, like, a little while about 2 years ago. And there was just no, like, real clubs or anything available at MSU or just in Lansing area that really appealed to me. But then, Sean, actually, he actually moved in, to the same house as me, and he introduced me to salsa club because he was already doing it. And I was like, oh, easy. I'll just go with him and, yeah, just been having fun and going ever since.
Tessa Kresch:So you knew you wanted to dance?
Jonathon:Pretty much. I just because I work from home. I just need to get something to get me outside and moving and
Tessa Kresch:Mhmm.
Jonathon:You know, talking to people that isn't behind the screen. So yeah. So it's been a perfect place to do that.
Tessa Kresch:I think we all need some human interaction this time.
Jonathon:That. Yep.
Tessa Kresch:And what about you?
Ishan:I started in salsa club with my old roommate, sort of similar to Jonathan, but I had I had my roommate bring me in. And since then, I think I've been more frequent than he has because I just, like I figured out that I love dancing so much only after joining salsa club because I never really danced socially as much. So I think that's what drew me, and I was like, it's a great community. It's a great place to meet friends. And I was new here.
Ishan:I think I I moved to the US. And then 2 weeks later, I I came to my 1st salsa class. I'm like, this is a perfect place to meet new people and sort of, like, just dance the night away pretty much.
Jonathon:It's a nice Dua Lipa re reference. I think that's
Sierra:My freshman and junior year, well, we have sparticipation. I'm sure anyone listening to this knows what sparticipation is. Absolutely. Promotion. And I never went freshman or sophomore year.
Sierra:I, like, wasn't in any clubs. I don't know why. I just never did. Yeah. And so I went junior year just to see what we had to offer.
Sierra:And then Anthony, which is our vice president, I saw he had music playing at the club table. And I was walking with my best friend and he was like, you look like you dance. And I was like, I don't. And then he was like, you should come. Like, why not try it?
Sierra:And the music was cool, and I didn't really have that much interest. I danced growing up, but I didn't dance socially like Ashon was saying. So I knew I liked dance, but I didn't I wasn't looking to dance or join a club like that. I was actually looking to join, like, clubs for my major, so I wasn't going there planning on looking at salsa club or any type of dance club. And then I just went for the experience, like, for the plot, if you will.
Sierra:That was actually my reasoning. I was like, I'll go to 1 because it's a cool story, and and then I went to everyone after that ever. So, yeah, I just I fell in love with that. I thought it was really cool, but it's funny because I wasn't, like, at all planning to do anything. I had no one who loved salsa who wanted to bring me into it.
Sierra:I just kinda went because
Tessa Kresch:Yeah. I remember going to this participation and people telling me, you look like you can rock climb.
Ishan:You look
Tessa Kresch:like you can play soccer, and you could get roped
Sierra:in. I know. I felt like I was like, oh, do I look like I was?
Tessa Kresch:Yes. Thank you. I was just wondering. And what about you?
Olivia:I was pretty similar to Sierra where I didn't have anyone who went in with me. I was just a little baby freshman on campus trying to find my way, and I saw that this club was in Hubbard Hall, which was right across the street from Holmes, which is where I lived. And I ended up telling myself I was gonna go one day. I was gonna go all by myself. So if I didn't like it, I could run back out through the doors and never have to think about it again.
Olivia:And, clearly, that didn't happen, and I fell in love with it and started dancing for pretty much the first time in my life. I did briefly get kicked out of ballet as a 4 year old.
Sierra:But apart from that
Olivia:apart from that, never danced before, and I've been with it since, and it's been a great time.
Tessa Kresch:All this talk about salsa, but could you just describe what it is?
Ishan:Well, it's a lap and dance for sure, but it's it's sort of more than that because it relies on connection a lot because that's what we talk about for the most part. It's about forming a connection between 2 people and sort of when you're dancing, it's like you're dancing with each other and the rest of the place can just sort of go away for a second. And it's it's a partner heavy dance, but you can also dance by yourself. It's very versatile. But for the most part, it's a dance that makes you connect with different people, and that's what I like about it.
Sierra:Salsa is really cool to me. It's very unique in the sense. There's other connection, like Ashawn was saying, connection based dances, such as, like, swing dancing or line dancing, I guess. But I would say that all of these and especially salsa are kind of in their own category of social dancing because you can learn how to salsa in probably 2 minutes. There's, like, a basic step that you do, and then as long as you know the basic step, which is, like, literally 3 steps, then you can dance salsa.
Tessa Kresch:And a little bit of hip. And a little bit of hip.
Sierra:A little bit of a little bit of sass to it. But as long as you can do those basic steps, like, you can technically say I can dance salsa, and then scale just comes with that connection between partners. And so I think salsa is really cool because I grew up doing dance, like, you know, ballet, jazz. I did palm in high school, but that's like a routine. Like, you learn choreography.
Sierra:And salsa, you don't learn choreography. Like, you just put on music, and then you learn how to lead, you learn how to follow, and then you just, like, whip out crazy dance moves just, like, on the whim.
Tessa Kresch:For sure. So you can kind of improvise.
Sierra:I would say it's, like, essentially all improvisation except for the basic step that you learn.
Tessa Kresch:And I saw that you guys don't only do salsa. You do other types of Latin dance. Tell me about that.
Jonathon:About half of the classes, actually, we do pachata, which is a different or, I think, more modern Latin style dance that is more I guess, you could say it's a little more intimate. You get a little closer with your partner. There's a lot more, like, hip movement in it and stuff. It's, at least in my opinion, it was a little more simpler to learn. But also, from my more recent experiences, it seems more, difficult to get really good at because you do need to feel, like, have a really good connection with your partner to look good while doing bachata.
Jonathon:So, like, anyone can do it, but it's a lot more difficult to look good while doing it when compared to salsa, if that makes sense.
Ishan:We always have seen different styles of dancing being introduced all the time. Mhmm. Because we started off with salsa, but then transitioned to bachata, then we did merengue, which is a different style. Then we did a little bit of chacha, a little bit of cumbia sometimes. And we didn't we recently had a class on kizomba, which is a completely different dance, but still connection based.
Ishan:So we're exposed to a lot of different dances with different moves, but sort of builds a foundation on how to develop your connection with with a stranger almost. And that's what I like about it where it's like you can dance with anybody as long as you sort of build that connection with them.
Tessa Kresch:Yeah. And all you need is kind of these baseline steps in order to dance with a stranger.
Ishan:Exactly.
Tessa Kresch:Do you wanna break down all of these different dances for me?
Sierra:Definitely salsa and Bachata.
Tessa Kresch:Yeah. Yeah.
Ishan:Bachata, I know I know the story of Bachata where it was started in the Dominican
Sierra:Republic.
Ishan:If I remember correctly, it's a dance among farmers. And when they would get together after the harvest season or something like that and just, like, get together in their small little communities and just do a simple sort of dance. And it has improved, its visibility over the past, like, decade where it's gotten into more different styles where, you know, there's traditional Bachata, which is more legwork and footwork and not a lot of dancing with your hands, but a lot of dancing with your feet. And it's transitioned into different styles such as there's New York style Bachata, Bachata, there's modern Bachata, there's essential Bachata. So there's a lot of transitions and a lot of different ways people dance it, but the overall basic step remains the same.
Tessa Kresch:But Is there a song that you associate with Bachata?
Sierra:That's such a good question, actually. Because there is music that, like, I can't even describe it, unfortunately, because I remember I started going to club, and they would play music. Just for some context, how we, like, run salsa club is that we come, everyone, you know, says hello, get settled in. They have a lesson that they do, so they teach you a series of steps or a series of new moves. And then at the end, there's what we call open dance, which they just put on music and then you can just dance with people in the club.
Sierra:And I remember when I first started going, they'd, like, play music and they'd be like, oh, this is bachata. Do you wanna dance? Or they'd be like, oh, this is a salsa song. Do you wanna dance? And I was like, why would you know?
Sierra:Like, how do you what are you talking? How do you know? Like but there is, like, a certain rhythmic beat associated with both dances because, Bachata is much more it's like a touch step if you if you will. So it's like 1, 2, 3, 4, and then salsa is kind of, like, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7. It's, like, in thirds rather than doubles, if if that actually makes sense, what I'm describing.
Sierra:And so the beat and the rhythm of the music indicates what dance you're gonna be doing.
Tessa Kresch:Got it. Which is really interesting. It?
Sierra:I get it now.
Tessa Kresch:So we've dissected bachata a little bit. Mhmm. Now let's dive into salsa.
Sierra:Salsa actually so it gets its roots in I think it's Cuba. I think it's a Cuban dance. But, salsa, like the modern dance as we know it today, actually was really fleshed out in New York in the forties and the fifties. It was kind of, like, introduced there and then, like, really took off as a social dance there. I'm not exactly sure why previously it wasn't, like, as popular, but, it definitely popularized in New York and then kinda spread out from there.
Sierra:But when I learned that, I was really interested to learn that the salsa that we learned actually has roots, like, not deep roots, obviously, but, like, in the US.
Tessa Kresch:Yeah. That's surprising to me.
Sierra:Right? Because I would think it was, like, I don't know, from Spain or something like that. Like, because it's popular all over the world as well. I mean, you can go anywhere. That's one of the really cool things about salsa and bachata is that there is community everywhere, like, globally for this.
Sierra:Like, our friend Lydia in the club, she recently went to England, danced there. She went to Japan. I'm pretty sure she danced there. Like, she did yeah. So you don't, like they don't even speak the same language sometimes.
Tessa Kresch:But they speak the same dance.
Sierra:They do. Exactly. It's cool. That's awesome.
Tessa Kresch:And then just describe what it's like to dance and how being in this club has enriched your experience at MSU.
Jonathon:So like I mentioned before, when I was trying to find a dance, I was thinking about doing something, like, more of a routine, like Sierra was talking about earlier, like what she used to do. But it has been really interesting kinda developing the skills to communicate, with your partner as a dancer. I'm a lead, which is, you know, they're generally not all the time, but generally, the man is usually the lead, and the woman is usually the follow. The man gives the signals and, you know, makes the follow look good is how it generally goes. So, like, they're mentioning with, like, connection and just that communication and just trying to really figure out how to properly communicate.
Jonathon:Especially as a beginner, like, as a lead, you'll, like, often, like, try to do a move that they'll want the follow-up to do, and they'll be, like, what was that? They're, like, they won't know they won't know what you're doing. Like so it's just really trying to just get those, like, little signals between, like, your arms or whatever else that's been the biggest just I don't know. Really kinda cool thing to me. Like, a lot of people you dance with, you don't even you just say hi, and then you just do, like, the coolest thing ever for the next 4 minutes without saying another word.
Jonathon:It's just kind of interesting in that regard.
Olivia:I love that you bring up communication because when I think about dancing, I think about it like a conversation and, like, different types of dance I associate with different places. Like, for salsa to me, it's a very professional, very business y type dance to me because you have these really our teachers like to say that you're on a train track where you're usually going very forward, backward, or side to side, which isn't all you can do. But then there's something like bachata, where I think it's more of, like, a little bit of a closer dance, and it's something you kind of do to have fun with friends. And then based on that connection, it kinda tells you, like, what dialect you're speaking in. Like, if you're from a different place, you're gonna have a a harder pressure, and you're gonna be a little bit more exaggerative with your movements and how you flourish.
Olivia:And other times, you have a very light lead follow combination where you have to really pay attention to the nuance in in the body movements and what they're, quote, unquote, saying to you in order to get the dance to kind of come together. It is communicating. It's just through your body language.
Sierra:That's so funny that you say that because I've never explicitly thought of it like that. But when you were saying that, I was like, oh, she is so right. Like, salsa feels a little more polished, I guess, in a sense. For sure. There's, like, a lot more turns, a lot more, like, big elaborate moves, I think, that's easier maybe to execute in salsa than bachata bachata does feel, a little more intimate.
Sierra:I really like both. I am so beyond grateful that I was roped into salsa kind of just by accident. Because for me personally, salsa was the first, like, hobby or thing that I did just because I liked it, and that was, like, on my own volition. So, you know, when I was little, I did, like, dance. I did choir.
Sierra:I did all these things, but it was always because my friends did it or I was signed up for it or I kind of had to do it. And a lot
Tessa Kresch:of the things you do in high school, I feel like, are towards college applications and just to make yourself a little bit more marketable.
Sierra:Yeah. Most of the clubs I joined in high school were because I wanted to look good, and I wanted to get into a good school and all these things. And I feel like when you do things like that, you kind of don't really have a sense of what you actually like as an individual. Mhmm. Like, all these things have been told to you, but you've never actually, like, done something on your own.
Sierra:And so salsa came at a time for me where I was really looking to find something that I could just connect with personally, and I stumbled upon it. And it was the first thing I did. Like, I made my best friend go with me, like, once or twice because I was scared. But she didn't really care for it, and so, I just kept going alone. And so not only was it kind of a sense of, like, oh, this is something I do just because I like it.
Sierra:There's no deeper meaning. There's, like, nothing more to it other than it brings me joy. And then through the club, I've also been able to make some of my best friends, like, Sean over here. Like, I see him now all the time instead of just at club. And so it's provided me with, like, a really deep sense of community and just joy that it's something that I really just love.
Ishan:It's it's so nice to have a community where you don't really have to talk to anyone to know them.
Tessa Kresch:Mhmm.
Ishan:But because you can identify people on how they dance, how like, how you've been dancing with them, and that's enough to become friends with them. And that's what I love about salsa club because it's like I don't have a lot of meaningful conversations while I'm dancing. But dancing together leads us to have really meaningful conversation later because you're, like, you're dancing all the time. You're you're friends now. And if, like, 2 years ago, if you told me that, you know, I'm gonna be still going to salsa club, I would have, like, been like, know what?
Ishan:I can't dance. But it's definitely it's a good challenge to have to upscale yourself, even when you think you can't do it. Because a lot of the time, a lot of new people come into club and they're like, oh, you know, I've it's my first class. I don't know how to do this. I'm like, don't worry.
Ishan:I was where you were 2 years ago. You just gotta keep coming, and you'll get better.
Sierra:To add on, he can definitely dance now. I would just like to put on the record. He's humble, but he's, like, one of our best leads just in club, just period. Like
Jonathon:by far. Anytime I watch him, I'm like, why can't I just be like this guy? Aw. He's very,
Ishan:very talented.
Sierra:Truly. Real valuable. And one more, like, fun thing about salsa, which you were saying, like, tell me about it. Why do you guys like it? Maybe this is a surface level reason, but it's like a cool party trick.
Sierra:Yes.
Tessa Kresch:Oh my gosh. Being able to know how? Mhmm. Dance with anyone?
Sierra:Literally. And then, like, for me, I don't have I don't I don't even know, like, what kind like, I don't even know if my family is, like, Irish, German. I don't know. I have no fun, like, cultural roots that I can tap into. I know there's, like, you know, a lot of, like, other, like, holidays and celebrations where people have, like, dances and community and all these things, and I never had that.
Sierra:And I think salsa and, like, the Latin community is so deeply rooted in community and connection just, like, throughout history. And it's really cool to be able to kind of experience that and be able to tap into that when I never had that growing up.
Ishan:It builds curiosity. That's the biggest thing because, you know, like, even though we we go to salsa club on Tuesdays Wednesdays, there are a lot of social dances that happen on the weekends. And those are not, let's say, part of salsa club, but that's where you learn about them. And then you go and meet other people who don't come to salsa club, but you can dance with them now because you're now trained enough to do that. And, plus, I think we just had Hispanic heritage month.
Ishan:And we went to so many of those events as well, and it was so cool to be able to learn about a new culture just because we went to a few classes of salsa club. And it sort of opens up your perspective a lot more because you're meeting so many different people of so many different cultures. It's always fun to dance with someone new.
Tessa Kresch:Speaking of your partner, are you generally dancing with different people every time, or do you have
Sierra:a certain partner you go to For lessons and things, we start they're like leads on this side of the room, follows on this side of the room, and you kinda can pick whatever you want. And there are women who do lead. It is typically men. I try to lead now on Wednesdays because I've been going so long, and I go on Tuesdays where I practice my following, so then I started leading on Wednesdays. It's a new party trick.
Sierra:It is a new party. I can dance with my girlfriends now. That's why I wanted to, like, learn how to do it. And she kills it, by the way. Who knows?
Sierra:I have a long way to go, but thank you so much.
Olivia:I saw it yesterday. She's being humble.
Sierra:But it's like leads on the side, follows on the side. You grab a partner. You kinda separate into 2 rows for some space, and then they'll teach you a little bit. And they're like, okay. Rotate.
Sierra:Like, leads this way or follows this way. And so the entire lesson, you are just rotating through a line, and so you're dancing with someone new every time. They always say that the first thing that you do as soon as you rotate so that we don't, like, waste time or get too chatty is put your hands out if you're the lead and the follow-up will take your hands. Say, hi. What's your name?
Sierra:And then you start dancing again. And then during open dance, I think people definitely have people that they tend to dance with more because they like dancing with that first. Me and Sean dance together, like, all the time. Mhmm. Just because we have a great connection when we dance.
Sierra:But, yeah, like, people will just come up to you and ask and kinda go from there. And I also think that when you are dancing, it's really important if you are on the more advanced side to go to people who are beginners and ask them if they wanna dance because it makes it a lot less intimidating because I know what it feels like to be coming in for the first time. I know what it feels like to be watching people, like, in a in the most humble way. I can say dance like we dance and think, wow, that's so hard when it's like, no. We just learned how to do that.
Sierra:You know what I mean? So it kind of it bridges that gap, and then it allows for more connection through people who have never been and then people who have been going for 4 years.
Tessa Kresch:I really appreciate that it is encouraged to try something new, and I like the fact that you rotate because people can go alone and don't have to feel worried about not being picked or not having someone to dance with.
Ishan:No. As a general rule of thumb, if I see any person just, like, standing there, I will go regardless if it's if it's a dude or or dudette, I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna ask them to dance.
Jonathon:You let me in a dance yesterday.
Ishan:I did lead him in a dance. I I sometimes follow as well because I'm like, hey. If if you're a lead who who is, like, scared to ask someone to dance because it's usually tradition that the lead asks Yeah. To follow to dance. But sometimes, you know, they're kinda scared because you have to go up to a new person.
Ishan:Yeah. And and you don't and you're not confident in your own ability to lead a fondant. So I'm like, hey. Do you wanna do you wanna lead me? I'll I'll follow you.
Sierra:What do
Tessa Kresch:you do if you have an odd number?
Olivia:That's where the eboard comes in. Oh. And so we have 5 or 6 of us typically on eboard. And so as everybody is splitting off into leads and follows, we run through and we count. So you'll see, like, 2 of us frantically going down the aisles, and then we're calculating between the eboard.
Olivia:Okay. We need this many leads to go in. We need this many follows. You're sitting out. You're tapping in.
Olivia:So we try to keep it as consistent as possible, but we also don't require members to be there for an entire lesson. So we constantly have people coming in, coming out. And so it usually naturally just buffers itself, and it works out really well, especially because we have people like Sierra who can go back and forth between leading and following where they can switch mid lesson, which is insane. Like, it is so difficult to do that. So Is it really that different?
Olivia:For me, it's like a complete mind switch because for following for me, you really have to shut off your instinct to, like, help your lead out. But as a lead, you have to, like, do everything. You're guiding the dance. You're guiding the moves. So it's a very different mindset for me.
Sierra:I was actually just about to ask if I could go into that a little bit more because we keep referencing leading and following, and we haven't explicitly kind of said anything about that. So since it is a partner dance, there's a lead and there's a follow. And as the name, like, implies, there's one person who is kind of more, quote, unquote, in charge of the dance and one person who's following their lead, and it's really interesting. So as a lead, you take on, like, the brunt of the responsibility, I guess, of the dance, social dancing, especially because we're learning how to dance in salsa club, but it's to be translated over into a social setting. So first and foremost, you have to make sure that you're aware of the follow.
Sierra:You're responsible for them, like, bumping into anyone. You're responsible for them having enough
Tessa Kresch:space to dance. So you
Sierra:have to have that spatial awareness, and then at the same time, the lead is the one indicating what moves are going to be done. As a follow, you kind of have to relinquish a lot of the control of the dance, but a lead, you kind of learn think signals. So you learn how to signal what you want the other person to do, and then as a follow, you're learning how to pick up on the signals so that you can understand. So, like, if leading is writing the language, following is learning how to read the language. If you're dancing and you kinda, like, put your hand up and then turn it a little, as a follow, you go, oh, that means they want me to turn.
Sierra:Mhmm. And so a lead, the hardest part is that spatial awareness, but it's also, thinking of what you wanna do when you're dancing because you can learn a move, but then the music comes on and you're doing your basic and you're like, oh my gosh. I need to do something. Like and so you have to, like, build up an arsenal. So as a lead, you have to be very, strong.
Sierra:You have to be very clear on what you want them to do. And then as a follow, the hardest part is turning your brain, like, completely off. When I follow, it's so funny because I try to think about what we're doing as little as possible. I focus on my posture and then not interjecting. That it's called back leading where if they haven't led something and you do something on your own, that's like you're actually driving.
Sierra:Exactly. You're hurting the dance more than you are helping it. It makes it look a little clunky. When there's a really good connection between the lead and the follow, it's when the lead is very clear and direct on what they want to happen, and then the follow lets them kind of do the moves they wanna do, adds, like, flourish and style and makes it look all pretty and doesn't do not what they wanna do where it's restrictive, but doesn't, like, go off script.
Ishan:As a lead, you have to be creative. It forces you to be creative because there are times where you're like, okay. I have elapsed all of the moves. I've no I I've learned. What can I do now?
Ishan:And it's sort of like just manipulating your body in different ways to sort of see what works. We we make mistakes all the time when dancing, but that's the fun of it. You know? It's it's it's when when you screw up, you're like, oh, whatever. Keep going sort of thing.
Ishan:There's no pressure to perform
Tessa Kresch:Yeah.
Ishan:Which is really nice. It's more social. It's more friendly, and nobody's gonna hold it against you if you if you, like, do something weird or something. You know?
Tessa Kresch:Yeah. Yeah. You talked about Tuesday Wednesday lessons. Can you tell me the difference between these 2?
Jonathon:So for the Tuesday classes, those are, like, the they're usually a more smaller smaller group around, like, 15, 20 people. They're more you're, like, kinda getting into it with the instructors. Kind of, like, they focus more on, like, form, your posture, like, if you ever, like, leaning, they're, like, nope. Stand up. Like, oh, gosh.
Jonathon:Show is back.
Tessa Kresch:No. They're there. No pressure.
Jonathon:Well, Wednesdays are a little more casual like that. They're a little they're more fun, more laid back, just kinda learning moves and being a little more social. And then, yeah, Tuesdays, they're normally actually split into advanced and more basic groups just led by the 2 different teachers.
Sierra:Like, Wednesdays, you learn moves and then you open dance, and then Tuesdays is what I would just call technique class where you're learning form, posture, how to do moves, like, correctly.
Olivia:The biggest difference in my eyes too between Wednesday Tuesday is that if you are a new person looking to start salsa, please come on Wednesday first because the Tuesday lesson is a separate offshoot hosted entirely by our teachers. It's a great way to improve your dancing for the Wednesday lessons, which are in Hubbard room 132, which is the big room. If you've ever been on campus, if you've ever gotten Sparties at Hubbard, there is no way you're ever gonna miss it if you're there at 7:30 PM on a Wednesday. So doors open at 7:30. We usually do our introductions at about 7:45, and we're often rolling out a lesson, by 8 o'clock every single time.
Olivia:And, again, you can hop in and out whenever you'd like. There is no cost, and this goes into the lesson phase and usually ends around 9. And then we have an hour of open dance after, and then we typically wrap up around 10.
Tessa Kresch:Wow. That's awesome. Seems like a nice exercise and de stressor. And where can people find more information? Do you have any socials?
Olivia:If you're on Instagram, you can follow us at MSUsalsa Club. We also do have an email. It is club salsa msu@gmail.com. Feel free to send an email either through involve at state. We're registered on there, so feel free to become a member on there, and we'll pop you on our email list.
Olivia:It's only one email per week. I promise. We don't overload you. MSU sends enough emails. We're not gonna contribute to that if you don't have to.
Tessa Kresch:And that's it for our show. Thank you to everyone involved in the making of this podcast. If you like what you've heard, come back next week. I'm Tessa Creusch. You've been listening to Exposure.
Tessa Kresch:This was this week's episode of Exposure. Keep in mind that the views and opinions discussed on Exposure are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff at Impact 89 FM. If you're interested in going back and listening to our archive of stories, feel free to check out our website at impact89fmdot org. And of course, if you're interested in what's going on next week, you can tune back in and we'll see you back here. You've been listening to Exposure.