Amidst this cold and dreary April, there’s a spot downtown sure to get your feet moving and your blood pumping again.

Syracuse University Latin Nights, otherwise known as Havana Nights, is an evening of salsa and Latin-themed dancing that takes place tonight from 9 to 2 a.m. at Ballybay Pub and Nightclub at 550 Richmond Ave. The event is sponsored by La Familia De La Salsa, a local group that promotes cultural diversity through Latin dance.

‘At our last SU night, we had more than 200 people come out,’ said Brian Bromka, artistic director of La Familia. ‘Everyone loves it. There’s a big sense of community with salsa dancing and all the other types of Latin dancing.’

Before Havana Nights begins there are beginner ‘survival’ salsa lessons at 8 p.m. that last right up until the dance begins.

‘Salsa was intimidating to learn, but the survival lessons are great, and you get into it really fast,’ said Jacob Wickham, a graduate student in environmental and forestry biology at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. ‘Salsa has a great energy to it, and it’s a lot of fun to be apart of it.’

The music is courtesy of SU’s own DJ La Maquina, or Roberto Perez, who plays a mix of salsa, meringue, Chachacha and reggeaton from all around the world. There is a live Afro-Cuban drum and dance band, La Rumba Cubana, which comes on at midnight.

Because of the interest in salsa dancing both at SU and in the Syracuse community, and the success of Havana Nights, Bromka is offering beginner lessons every Monday beginning April 16. The lessons last for five weeks at the Pioneer Health Club, 6400 Collamer Road in East Syracuse.

‘Havana Nights and salsa in general isn’t your typical dance in which there’s a guy on one side and a girl on the other,’ Bromka said. ‘Everyone gets involved right away, and you meet a lot of people.’

Admission to Havana Nights is $5, and the survival salsa lesson is an additional $5.

Free buses run from the Schine Student Center and Manley Field House to Havana Nights beginning at 10:30 p.m., and pick up and drop off students every 45 minutes until 2:30 a.m.

If you go

What: Havana Nights

When: Tonight, 9 p.m. – 2 a.m.; busses run from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.

Where: 550 Richmond Ave.

How much: $5 cover

Published on April 11, 2007 at 12:00 pm