My Dancing Nemesis: Latin Dance Article

This is an article about a dance teacher I suspect may be the same one who made me cry.

Latin twist: Dance party will get you moving
By Beth Cooney, Staff Writer, February 7, 2008


Enrique Alarcon is a dancer who likes a new spin.

When the Peruvian native began teaching dance workout classes in Fairfield County five years ago, he used traditional Latin steps such as the salsa, cha cha and meringue to get the hips and heart rates of his students pumping.

The 29-year-old dancer, who emigrated from South America as a teenager, created a cult following in the process.

Alarcon now teaches more than 20 Latin dance fitness classes a week in clubs from Stamford to Fairfield including the New York Sports Club in Stamford and Norwalk as well as the Southport Racquet Club.

When Alarcon created a show for his private dance company he did not want the evening to be, "Just watching me dancing and then you go home. I hate when you go to watch a dance show, it ends and all you want to do is move. I think it's frustrating and as a dancer, I want you to be inspired to dance, too."

When Alarcon and his dancers take the stage in the warehouse at Fairfield Theatre Works tomorrow, he says his show will be inclusive. "I don't know how to say this nicely, but Connecticut can be a little boring. I want to heat things up a bit."

The twist to "Enrique Alarcon's Latin Dance Party," will be that when the show ends, the star and his partner, Amanda Parton, will lead an extended dance class. Cocktails will flow and, "We are going to show you some of our moves and how to do them. Then we are going to have a great DJ and everyone, we hope, is going to get up and dance with us. All the performers will be on the floor engaging with the audience. We envision it being like a big dance party where we are joined by our friends."

The evening will begin with a dance performance by Alarcon, Parton and a company of select dancers he has chosen to create specific pieces.

"All of my dancers have very different backgrounds, from ballet to Latin. I always choose very charismatic dancers, but they bring a very different perspective to what I do as a Latin dancer. I like to bring all those things to a dance and see where it goes."

"We will have group and partner dances. There will be cha cha, salsa, meringue and jive. I like to mix ballet with my jazz training and South American influences and see what happens. It is all going to be very different, explosive and great to watch and learn."

In Spanish, he says he hopes the show will be erotico (sexy) jubiloso (hilarious) and even a little loco (crazy). "You can sit and watch, but please, come ready to dance," he says.

*

what: Enrique Alarcon's Latin Dance Party

when: Tomorrow, 8 p.m. (doors open at 7:30)

where: Fairfield Theatre Works, 70 Sanford Ave.

price: $32 for members, $37 for nonmembers

contact: 259-1036 or www.fairfieldtheatre.org

Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.