La Alianza Latina Hosts Dance
On Saturday night, streamers and decorative letters adorned the doors leading into the Phelps Science Center where flags from several Hispanic countries welcomed Exonians and visiting students alike to the La Alianza Latina (LAL) Dance.
Falling in the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month, the annual LAL Dance celebrates Hispanic and Latinx culture through music and dance. This year, four peer schools, Brewster Academy, Deerfield Academy, Lawerence Academy and Brooks Academy joined Exeter’s festivities, marking the dance’s second year as a regional dance.
Although general planning for the LAL dance began last year, the coheads picked up planning early this year, inviting peer schools to the dance. LAL club advisor and the Office of Multicultural Affairs Intern, Querida De La Stukes, complemented co-head and senior Genesis Reyes’ work with contacting peer schools. “Genesis Reyes was instrumental in liaising with other schools. I’m really proud of her and the work she put in to make the dance successful,” she said. In addition to reaching out to other schools, LAL worked together to create the nights’ playlist.
According to LAL member and upper Gabriella Shetreet, the dance started out rather slowly due to the DJ’s song choice. “I thought that in the beginning, the DJ definitely played a lot of slow songs that were not great for dancing. It was difficult to get people to stay after all those slow songs,” she said.
DJ Shamar, a chaperone for Brewster Academy, critiqued the music that was played at first, believing that more upbeat music could have better fulfilled the purpose of celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. “I think the dance could be more celebratory. The vibe in there was kind of dead,” he said.
Despite some difficulties in the beginning, students began to fill Grainger as the dance went on, enjoying the Hispanic and Latinx music. Lower Shalom Headley expressed that the dance allowed him to relate to the music. “I don’t usually go to dances at Exeter because I don’t always identify with the music that is played … so I really appreciated the music they played,” he said.
LAL member and lower Ginny Vazquez appreciated being able to share music with other students. “It isn’t often that we get to hear that kind of music out here in New Hampshire, where [Latin music] isn’t as popular. It was fun to see people from other schools vibing with the music and having a good time,” she said.
Deerfield student Josh Odero liked the fact that the dance was regional, allowing students to connect with one another. “I wanted to see what Exeter is about, especially their equivalent of a Latin American Student Alliance,” he said.
Out of the whole dance, Reyes recounted her favorite memory as dancing to Caballo Dorado, a traditional step dance song that LAL learned to dance. “I was happy that I had learned the dance and was able to join other [Latinx identifying] students dancing it,” she said.