The members and guests of Sabor de Salsa Club flew in pairs as they danced along the Redondo Beach Women’s Club’s wooden floors, music floating in the air. Cheers from the onlookers occasionally cut into the song. As the final act, one person from each pair dips their partner, leaning them back precariously, summoning a flurry of cheers from the crowd as the performance for the attendees of the fundraiser draws to a close.

With the goal of teaching others in the community basic salsa dance moves, as well as raising money for future events, Sabor de Salsa Club hosted the annual salsa dance class fundraiser, with senior Co-Presidents Sadie Simmons and Morgan Robertson instructing the guests.

“I [was] really excited to be teaching the class with Morgan,” Simmons said. “I always feel like seeing everyone learn from you is always such a rewarding experience.”

Taking place on January 24, the fundraiser serves as a way to “better the community by teaching them to dance,” according to junior Veronika Rassakazova, a member of Salsa Club.

“We get to see people try our moves and when they succeed, it puts a smile on our face that we’re actually capable of not only learning the moves, but also teaching it to somebody,” Rasskazova said.

According to Simmons, the fundraiser not only provided an opportunity for students to be introduced to the world of salsa, but also allowed graduated salsa members to reconnect with the club and share their experiences with the new members.

“We try to keep in touch when we throw a social, which is a little salsa party where we all get together, or when we do a fundraiser. We try to invite all the past members that we hung out with, just to bring everyone back, let them see how the club is doing now and catch up,” Simmons said.

After hosting the fundraiser for the last three years,, Sabor de Salsa Club has a general plan and process to organize the event. Part of this procedure entails managing money when booking the venue, which, according to Simmons, provided her with experience in finances.

“I definitely learned a lot when I was on the fundraising committee and had to manage how much money we were putting into the event, booking the venue and all that, versus how much we were gonna make from it. I feel like that’s a really good life experience,” Simmons said.

Although planning any event always involves a bit of stress, according to Simmons, the fundraiser usually runs “pretty smoothly,” in part because of the club member’s teamwork. However, there were a few difficulties Sabor de Salsa Club encountered this year.

“One of the hardest things was figuring out a date, because we wanted to plan the fundraiser around finals. We didn’t know if people [were] going to be able to attend earlier…because some people [had finals they wanted to prioritize],” Rassakazova said. “It was hard to make sure that everybody was available on the same day.”

Simmons hoped that through the fundraiser, members of the club would be able to share their experiences and love for salsa with their peers by showcasing what they learn in order to further expand the club.

“I hope people can bring their friends, introduce more people to salsa and maybe get some new members,” Simmons said. “I hope that everyone has a chance to show those who aren’t in the club what they do, why it’s important to them and let everyone see what salsa means to [us].”