Let’s Salsa
WILMINGTON LATIN DANCE HEATS UP THE FLOOR
E
very other Tuesday night, the dining tables and chairs are pushed back from the floor at King Neptune on Wrightsville Beach, and the restaurant converts into a Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey-style dance scene until 12:30 a.m. Feel your heart beat with the rhythm of the electrifying Latin music as the amount of dancers quickly multiples in the space where beginners learn from dance experts, couples of all ages smile, ladies from various backgrounds wear their best heels, and rum drinks are plentiful – it’s salsa time.
Wilmington Latin Dance, a group that teaches salsa in a fun and electrifying environment, hosts the King Neptune’s social dances and a once-a-month party at Islands Fresh Mex Grill.
Instructor Summer McPherson started the group last year.
“I started dancing in 2001. I started with swing. (Then,) I took a salsa lesson and went out dancing afterward and was completely hooked,” McPherson says.
She started teaching at Charlotte Latin Dance in 2010, which inspired her to create a sister school in Wilmington when she moved to the area. Before the late-night freestyle dancing begins, McPherson teaches a step-by-step crash course. The lessons vary between salsa, bachata, merengue, or cumbia so that newcomers can become familiar with a variety of Latin dances. Whether you still have to stare at your feet or you’re a seasoned salsa competitor, Wilmington Latin Dance creates an environment that’s open to all levels.
“(The dancers) range in age, culture, and profession,” McPherson says.
You must be twenty-one and over to attend the biweekly events at King Neptune, but all ages are welcome at the monthly parties at Islands with a $3 cover charge.
And in addition to the social benefits, Latin dance is a great activity for physical and mental health, McPherson says. It can also help develop non-verbal communication and concentration.
“It’s hard to focus on anything else when you’re dancing…You’re very present when you’re dancing with a person,” she says.
Plus, there’s more than just a one-on-one connection with your dance partner. Like all forms of ballroom dance, salsa is a community sport. McPherson hopes that Wilmington Latin Dance will continue
to create a community through the joy of learning to dance to the spirited rhythms of Latin music.
“(Social dance is) really like a lost art in our society,” she says. “Salsa is worldwide – bigger than the surrounding cities we have in our region.”
McPherson likes to include a short performance at each social, bringing in dancers from out-of-town in order to give exposure to different styles of dance.
McPherson’s group classes are scheduled for Tuesdays for four weeks at a time. After an early evening of the basic “left together, right together” steps, students are encouraged to practice their new moves at King Neptune’s social dance, conveniently scheduled right after group classes.
