South End Hosts Salsa in the Park Each Monday
Hot dances, cool breezes at sunset—and it’s free
Salsa in The Park, which offers free classes followed by a dance party, takes place Monday nights throughout the summer at the Blackstone Community Center Park. Photo courtesy of Salsa in The Park
Mondays can be tough to face: the weekend is over, a long workweek lies ahead. But Salsa in the Park (SITP) is sure to start your week with a lift.
Sponsored by MetaMovements Latin Dance Company, SITP offers free salsa lessons every Monday throughout the summer on several dance floors set up in the Blackstone Community Center Park in the South End. It’s a great way to enjoy the outdoors, meet new people, and shake up your routine. Plus, you’ll master a new talent to show off to all your friends.
Lessons are open to dancers of all ages and skill levels, whether you have two left feet or are ready for the next season of Dancing with the Stars. Dancers from Boston’s premier Latin dance troupe MetaMovements will teach you the fundamentals of salsa dancing, from basic steps and foot patterns to body rolls and turns.
Classes for all levels are held on all the dance floors from 6 to 6:30 pm, with instructors also offering additional free lessons for beginners at 7:15 pm on the back floors. And there is a beginner’s Cuban Dance (Casino & Rueda de Casino) lesson at 6:30 pm and a Silent Rhythms salsa class at 7 pm for those who are hearing and/or visually impaired.
If dancing isn’t your thing, make your way to the Music Corner, where you can either use your own instrument or borrow some maracas, claves, bongos, or congas and try your hand at playing salsa music. A free dance party tops off the evening, where you can test out your newly honed salsa prowess with music from DJ Hernan from 6:30 to 9 pm. Throughout the night both local and national performers will showcase a variety of music and dance genres.
When you need a break to rehydrate or refuel, head over to the health and fitness area run by BU School of Public Health and Tufts University graduate students. Here you can enjoy the free fruit-infused water bar and purchase healthy snacks.
Salsa dancing emerged in New York during the 1970s. A fusion of traditional Latin American dance styles like mambo and cha-cha and featuring elements of swing dancing and disco, salsa is a true American art form. SITP helps to keep the salsa tradition alive by passing it on to several hundred Bostonians every Monday night.
Salsa in the Park is every Monday night through August 27 at the Blackstone Community Center Park, 50 West Brookline St., the corner of West Brookline and Washington Streets, in Boston’s South End. Both the dance lessons and the party are free and open to the public. If it rains, the event will move inside the Blackstone Community Center, next door to the park. Find directions here.
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