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MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2024
16
A fractured dance community, brought together under one roof
ALICIA AR AGON | COURTESY The word “nexus” itself means “a connection or series of connections linking two or more things,” serving as a constant reminder of how the studio started.
BY CARLY HELTZEL
A single door remains unlocked past hours on the north wall of the SLO Public Market. Little more than an animated LED sign perched on the sidewalk outside marks what lies beyond the glass membrane. Most of the room lies dark, motionless. But immediately to the left past the entrance, a trickle of people — all clad in semi-formal attire and red smiley-face wristbands — descend a dimly lit staircase. A muffled ‘son clave’ beat drifts through the basement leading up to the source: Kláve, Nexus Ballroom’s underground Latin dance social. Dancers gather every Friday night from 10 p.m. until past 1 a.m., jiving to salsa, bachata, some cumbia and occasionally merengue in this studio space designed to cultivate human connection through dance. The Latina-owned ballroom features a dance event every night of the week, with ballroom and West Coast swing on Mondays, Latin dance on Tuesdays, Country two-step on Wednesdays and tango
on Thursdays. Students and community members come back week after week; the space is open to everyone, no partner required. “We’ve brought together a really divided and fractionated dance community,” Alicia Aragon, the founder and co-owner of Nexus said. “Of course the dance community existed before us. But I feel like we’ve kind of brought them all into one place.” The word “nexus” itself means “a connection or series of connections linking two or more things” serving as a constant reminder of how it all started, according to the studio’s website. As the room fills at the beginning of Kláve, a man in crisp leather shoes calls out in Spanish as he shuffles toward the lounge area on the far side of the studio. He sets down a medium Domino’s pizza topped with sausage and veggies. Noticing a newcomer, he holds out a slice: “Pizza?” Lina Baldenegro, a microbiology sophomore and regular at Kláve, eyed the pie while its owner was
whisked away to dance. Baldenegro finds her people in these social events, typically connecting more with those that choose to spend their Friday nights out dancing rather than at a typical college party.
Movement is one of those innate things that humans do. It unites us in a way, dancing is something that bridges us. ALICIA ARAGON Nexus Founder and Co-Owner
She waited in the lounge area for her favorite leads to arrive, the
people she knew would give her a good dance. A woman with short hair pinned back in a white rose clip outstretched her arm and smiled at Baldenegro. Balenegro’s sneakers matched the swift pace of the woman’s red 2-inch heels. After some footwork, swaying hips and a mesmerizing twirl or two later, she returned. “That was us just having fun,” Baldenegro said, settling back into the lime green sofa and kicking her feet up on the coffee table. The real dancing doesn’t come until later. But that’s the fun of the changing songs, rhythms and partners, she said, because each dance is different. “It’s like a snowflake,” she said. To the uncultured eye, the quick feet and fleeting movements appear as a semi-synchronic chorus of limbs, equally mysterious and enchanting. Baldenegro compared the experience to watching gymnastics, an utter enigma to those who don’t understand the mechanics. But once people start learning, they catch not only the explicit moves,
but also the subtle push and pull between the partners’ hands. This tension, this connection, is what drives the dance forward allowing improvisation and artistry. It’s also what makes partner dances like salsa incredibly intimate. “Salsa and Bachata are very close, affectionate partner dances,” Baldenegro said. “I didn’t grow up with that, so dancing has been a way for me to learn how to show people I care about them.” Aragon, the owner, is very interested in the intersection of psychology and movement expression. No other sport activates as many parts of your brain as partner dance, engaging you even further when you do it with another person, she said. Through her years of competitive and social dancing, Aragon researched culture through art movement. In every culture across countries and languages, moving your body to music has been a way that people expressed themselves, she said — even connecting people that don’t speak the same language. “Movement is one of those innate