Every Wednesday during lunch, Latin ballroom music fills the dance room: Welcome to the Latin Dance Club. Founded by Razmig Nalbandian, a new Garneau student, and supervised by Ms.Miller, the club aims to share Razmig’s love for Latin music with other students. As a competitive ballroom dancer, he has been training for five years, and has competed in a multitude of competitions.
Razmig decided to create the Latin Dance Club because of how different and unique the activity is. According to multiple club members, he is an amazing teacher because of his passion for the dance. Razmig hopes to help club members feel the excitement of Latin Ballroom dancing, and plans on having the club take part in school performances.
The salsa, cha-cha, rumba, tango, and samba are just a few of the many dances the club plans to learn. Currently, the club is tackling the samba, but they hope to move on to faster paced songs as the year progresses. Meetings consist of learning new techniques and adding onto previously taught dance moves. Mandy Chen, a Latin Dance Club member said that she joined because “it was an opportunity to try something new” and because she’s always enjoyed dancing.
Latin Dance Club members practice in the lunch room on Wednesdays. Photo: Russell Ijaya
Latin Dance Club has around fifteen members of varying skill levels who all thoroughly enjoy the activity. The upbeat music is a great way to de-stress, and Razmig believes that there’s no better way to let yourself loose than through dancing. When the bell rings at the end of lunch, students leave groaning, wishing they could have stayed longer.
Charmaine Chang, a Grade 10 student at Marc Garneau, said that “it’s a lot of fun, and it may be useful later in life,” when asked about the club. She later added that “the teacher is really nice and very passionate about what he teaches.” Latin Dance Club is a fun, exhilarating way to enjoy a lunch period, and the club is accepting dancers of all levels to drop by and join!
