Come to the LAL Dance

Culturally diverse music, an energetic crowd, and a zesty atmosphere will be found at this year’s La Alianza Latina dance, which will take place this Saturday, October 19th, in Grainger Auditorium.La Alianza Latina (or LAL), one of the many cultural clubs found on campus, works to help Latino students adjust to the Exeter community and serves to educate students of different ethnic backgrounds about Latino culture. The LAL board, responsible for planning this dance by advertising, selecting refreshments, and decorating the auditorium, holds this dance annually during fall term in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month.“We want to educate the Exeter community on the many hispanic heritages, ” LAL adviser and modern languages instructor Jacqueline Flores said. “Our main goal is to bring a little bit bit of culture to campus. ”“I’m planning on going because it's always fun to dance with your friends, but meeting new people makes the experience more memorable, ” lower Michaela Streep said.“My friends told me the dance was really fun last year, ” lower Nick Madamidola said. “I’m planning on going this year. I’m just looking forward to having some fun.”In the spirit of camaraderie that the club itself encourages among its members, the preparations for this dance will foster teamwork and a communal effort. “On the night of the event, the entire club will be in Grainger helping us set up for the dance, so in the end, the dance will be a group effort, ” Senior Alec Hernandez said.The dance, popular for its vast range of music, blends songs from different cultures, into one diverse playlist.“I think one of the biggest misconceptions about the dance is that we only play Latin American music, and that might turn people off and keep them from coming to the dance - but it's not true, ” Hernandez said. “We have music for everyone, not just Latin American music, so anyone can come and have a great time. ”LAL is hosting a dinner at Elm Street Dining Hall this Sunday to further celebrate Latin American culture in addition to the dance. Unlike years prior, the dinner is free and open to the community, providing diverse hispanic platters for everyone to enjoy.“There’s going to be music playing during the dinner, and the dining hall is going to be decorated with all the flags of the spanish speaking countries, except Spain, ” Flores said. “As for the food, we’re talking about a wide variety of nationalities represented, not just Mexican dishes. Hispanic meals are different from regions to another, and we want to expose as many of these international cuisines as possible.”Hernandez highlighted the success of last year’s dance and is optimistic for this Saturday. “If you haven't been to the dance before, I would say that it's definitely a great time, ” he said. “Last year the dance went really well, so I'm hoping for something along those lines, plus a bigger turnout. ”