- Ely Dance Studio is holding free Latin dance lessons in Allentown's Pocket Park every Tuesday night from 6:30-7:30
- They have been going on all summer, but next week is the last one of the season
- The sessions are open to anyone with an interest in Latin dance
ALLENTOWN, Pa.— At the ArtsWalk pocket park in downtown Allentown, dance instructor Rafael Laguer set up two tower speakers while people wandered into the area.
Wearing a headset microphone with a wire that clips onto his track pants, and a black shirt that simply reads "instructor" on the back, he got the sound system up and running.
The first song to play was a calm yet forward-moving Bachata song called "Conteo Regresivo" by Gilberto Santa Rosa.
The song, despite the soothing instrumental, is actually about a messy breakup and a serious heartbreak, sung in Spanish.
But the sad song was no match for the happiness of the crowd.
They were there to dance, not analyze song lyrics.
"You don't want to think, or over-analyze, just feel the music and dance."Rafael Laguer, dance instructor at Ely Dance Studio
Another who encouraged the dancers to stop analyzing things too much was Laguer. He said it explicitly:
"You don't want to think, or over-analyze," he said on the microphone. "Just feel the music and dance."
'Feel the music'
The gathering is an event called Latin Tuesdays — offering free Latin dance lessons.
It's put on by Ely Dance Studio, just down the street in downtown Allentown, and is open to anyone with an interest in dancing — and the boldness to do it in a public park.
"One! Two! Three! Four!"Dance instructor Rafael Laguer, leading dances at Allentown's ArtsWalk pocket park
The free weekly lessons have been going since June. Next week, Aug. 29, is the last one for this year. This year was the first time the event had been offered in the park, but the studio has done similar ones.
The same instruction is available at Ely Dance Studio year-round, though not for free.
About 30 people attended the session — a relatively low total compared with the number that usually attends.
That may not seem like a lot, but it pushes the practical capacity of the small ArtsWalk park. Organizers said there are many people who attend regularly.
Lauger's admonition for the crowd ended up being important, because his battery-powered microphone conked out shortly after he made it, and the crowd was forced to learn mostly through watching his movements.
He yelled out the occasional "One! Two! Three! Four!" to keep time, but the bulk of the lesson was just seeing, feeling and dancing — mimicking Lauger's energy and moves in real-time.
'Feel the music'
The people who came out to dance were a mix of those who clearly had spent time honing their Latin dance skills and those checking it out for the first time.
And those too shy to even try, just watching from a distance, working up the courage for next time.
"I'm happy because when I hear the music, I know the music, and I get to see people having fun and get to know them."Dancing participant Maria Marisan
As the Salsa music pumped from the speakers, people got looser and looser as the night went on.
The feeling was contagious. People stopped in from the street, hearing the music and seeing the smiles and wanting to be a part of it.
A man standing in the driveway of a neighboring building — on a different property and not affiliated with the lesson — started dancing independently.
He laughed at himself periodically, as if to acknowledge he knew what he was doing was unusual, but that he couldn't help but dance.
A young man and woman who appeared to be a couple attended the event together. At the start of the lesson they danced side-by-side, separated by about an arms length.
Moments later, they were closer, and dancing Bachata almost cheek-to-cheek. By the end of the session, they were practically inseparable, holding hands even when the instructions didn't call for it.
'Happy when I hear the music'
According to two other participants, Maria Marisan and Carmelus Calderun, hearing the music in Allentown and having a chance to dance to it, feels like home, and presents a social opportunity.
"I'm happy because when I hear the music, I know the music, and I get to see people having fun and get to know them," Marisan said in Spanish, with the help of a man named Jorge nearby to translate.
Wrapping up the lesson, the instructors thanked the crowd, who clapped for more than a minute. People wandered off with lingering, cheek-stretching smiles.
Laguer, the dance instructor, said he has worked a lot of odd jobs earlier in his career, but said he leaves the dance events feeling grateful he gets to spend his working hours doing what he loves.
