Introducing Ritmo Del Alma Latin Dance Team

The Latin American and Latino studies program would like to introduce Ritmo Del Alma Latin Dance Team, a registered student organization!

President Alicia Walker had always wanted to start a student organization that embraced Latin dance. She was unable to do so until attending LeaderShape, a weeklong conference, where she was inspired to take action. Ritmo Del Alma was created in fall 2015 by members Alicia Walker, Jessica Ramirez, Griselda Quezada, Desiree Arce, and Taylor Michael.

The meaning of “Ritmo Del Alma” is “rhyme of the soul.” The reason the founders wanted to bring this organization to campus was because of a desire to be a voice for the Latino community, as well as other underrepresented cultures, on campus. Accordingly, the team’s mission is to inspire others and increase awareness about the community of Latin dance and music. In many Latin countries, music and dance are ways in which struggles and highlights in life are shared, which also brings unity among cultures.

In the brief time that Ritmo Del Alma has been on campus, it has already had eight performances. “The team is a second family away from home,” Walker said. “We plan to continue to grow this family for many years to come and hope that it may continue to bring awareness through creativity and expression in the movement of the body.”