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Salsa, cha-cha-cha, and samba are only some of the dances that you can practice in the aerobic room of Skaptopara 2 every Monday and Wednesday evening. The Latin American Dance Club (LADC) welcomes AUBGers who are willing to enrich their musical knowledge. The club’s dancing instructor, Pavel, thinks that people today do not listen to the “right” kind of music. They are influenced by the pop-folk music in Bulgaria and by the new techno trends globally. “This is a serious problem that very few people realize,” he says. So Pavel tries not only to teach students how to dance, but also to give them some general knowledge about music styles. He shows different types of rhythms, such as Bulgarian folk dances and classic ballet, to broaden the students’ perspective. Currently, there are around 30 members in the LADC, and only a half of them come to rehearsals regularly. This makes it harder to standardize the level of the majority of students and form a core team. Those who come to rehearsals, though, have a lot of fun. To popularize the club and the Latin music itself, club president Boryana Atanasova initiated a Latin American Dance night, first in Blagoevgrad’s Jim Beam bar. After the place was closed, the parties were moved to Piano Bar. Thus, the club launched its first project, trying to involve more and more people not only from AUBG, but from Blagoevgrad. In spring 2006, another project was organized. The LADC was invited to a dance festival in Turkey. The instructor and students had several months to prepare the 21-minute program. ”They were performing like …professionals,” Pavel says. Because the club did not have enough money (AUBG funds covered only travel expenses), its members had to sew their own costumes and sleep in one hotel room. Financial difficulties aside, the festival was a lot of fun. The LADC accepts new members throughout the academic year. There are two dance groups, beginners and advanced. When: Mondays at 8:00 p.m. and Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. Where: Skaptopara II Aerobics room.
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