Kean Latin Rhythms has its first online meeting

By Jennifer Balsa | Published by October 8, 2020

It is safe to say that this has been one of the strangest school year kickoff for Kean University due to the inability to throw in person gatherings. From attending online cooking classes to setting up a yoga routine we have all tried to find new and creative ways to stay active and entertained during quarantine. Considering the new restricted lifestyles in order to reduce contagion during the Covid-19 pandemic, everyone has had to accommodate their hobbies inside the comfort of their home. However, this has not stopped Kean students from developing alternatives and still carrying out events to keep everyone busy and entertained.

On Wednesday Sept. 16, at 7:00 pm, the new emerging club Kean Latin Rhythms had its first online meeting. The event was carried out virtually through an Instagram live from their account “@keanlatinrythms,” as well as a google meet directed by the club’s president Angelina Pizzutiello.“This is something that I have been wanting to do my whole life, dancing is my passion and I enjoy teaching to those who share the same feeling for dancing,” said Pizzutiello.

The live meeting began with an introduction of the club and what the members would focus on if they decided to join. Pizzutiello stated that she mainly focuses on teaching salsa and bachata. In her previous experiences teaching dance classes, she has gathered that college students are most interested in those rhythms, especially those of Hispanic heritage.

“I find that young people of Hispanic heritage are looking to connect with their roots and keep the culture alive in order to pass it onto the next generation and one of the best ways to do this is dancing,” said Pizzutiello.

Throughout the meeting famous bachata and salsa songs were being played in the background in order to set the mood in accordance to the event. The event had a total of six attendees who stayed throughout the meeting. Pizzutiello had a chance to interact with the viewers through the chat bar on Instagram live and share some general information about future events for the club that they may be interested in.

Since the event was open to the public, not only Kean students joined but also young individuals who were interested in learning some new moves. Pizzutiello brought up the idea of a possible in-person meeting following social distancing guidelines in the near future and said she would discuss the idea with Jonathan Lopez, who is in charge of organizing Kean Events.  By the end of the meeting, the members had agreed that the meetings would repeat weekly, every Wednesday from 7:00 pm until 8:30pm.

The meeting culminated with Pizzutiello teaching some basic salsa and bachata moves. She began demonstrating the basic salsa moves and also gave out a sneak peek of the moves she will teach in future meetings. She hopes that throughout the semester she is able to recruit more members in order to make the club grow and spread Latin rhythm all throughout Kean University. “Let us dance our way through the semester,” stated Pizzutiello as she ended the meeting.

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