Joanne Swain (pictured above)
Retired educator and librarian, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Clearly, this is not your first time salsa dancing.
I started when I was 14. I’d go to the park and hear the music, and the music made me move. I remember this young lady, Chachi. They’d swing her around in the air this way and that. And I said to myself, I want to dance like her. So I took some of her steps and I created my own little style of dancing. It’s been my life ever since. I’m 74 now.
Did you take lessons?
I went to the school of hard knocks. We had no money to go to dance classes. We went to the concerts in the park for $5. Copacabana was free before seven, and the train was practically nothing. I went to Manhattan Center. I went to Palladium. We went traveling.
Are you here with anyone tonight?
Well, my boyfriend just passed away a month ago. We’re all still in shock over that. But everybody that’s here I’ve known for years. And when we see each other, we have a good time. We hug each other, and we dance until we’re tired. We have less years ahead of us than we do behind us. We realize that, and we respect that. So when I go out to dance, I dance hard. I’ll dance so hard that when I get back on the train, I’m leaning in the corner because I’m tired.
Nancy Nunez
Retired, Riverdale
Zoraida LaSanta
Social worker, Lower East Side
Kenneth Laidlow
Retired city planner, Crown Heights
Have you ever fallen in love with a dance partner?
Well, first of all, I’m in love with the dance because when I hear the music, I don’t feel any pain. I don’t feel tired, and the time just flies by. But as far as romance is concerned, I try to keep it to a minimum. This way, I’m open to more partner dancing. Plus, I’m in a relationship.
Luis Blasini
Professional singer, Yorkville
Emma Rodriguez
Retired photojournalist, Castle Hill
How’s the crowd tonight?
Everybody seems to be enjoying it. It’s really fun for the people who weren’t dancing, too. They enjoy watching the dancers. Some folks told me earlier, “Oh, I like how you did that little step. I like how you did that turn.” And I said, “Gee, I didn’t know anybody was looking at me.”
Johanna Coronado
Project coordinator, Ozone Park
Jackqueline Denton
Retired medical technologist, Fordham
Mary Ann Rodriguez
CMMS analyst, Jackson Heights
Carlos Sanchez
Retired Fire Department dispatcher, Chelsea
What’s been the best part of the evening?
The live band. Orquesta Broadway is iconic. They’ve been around for 60 years, since the early days of mambo when my mom used to dance. I try to support the bands, especially the old ones, because a lot of the original musicians are dying off. In this band, only two original members are left.
Simpson Alexis
Retired school administrator, Uniondale
Bianca Mercado
Retired state employee, Anaheim, California
Luke Grande
Musician and teacher, Hoboken, New Jersey
Are you comfortable dancing with strangers?
Of course. That’s a very common thing in Hispanic culture. You’ve got to be good at reading the room. When you see them, you make eye contact, or sometimes they come and get me. The other day was like that; I was just standing there and this lady grabbed my hand and started to dance with me. I said, “Let’s do this.”
Gloria E. Torres
Retired legal assistant, Riverdale
Cleo Hatcher
Retired construction worker, Bedford-Stuyvesant
When did you first get into salsa?
In the early ’60s when I was in high school. I was in that whole “in crowd” thing. Plus, I was a track star. I was very, very good. I got invited to the Olympic trials in ’66, but I got injured so I didn’t get to make it. After that, I got drafted, and once you got drafted, that was it. Everybody was going to Vietnam.
Sonia Lopez
Legal assistant, Jackson Heights
Minerva Román Urrutía
Retired psychologist and educator, Riverdale
Aurora Foster
Retired registered nurse, Upper West Side
Have any hobbies outside of dancing?
Tennis. I’m a tennis fanatic, but I don’t play. I just watch. My hand-eye coordination is not good at all. Dancing is about foot-hand coordination; it’s different.
Arturo Morcilio
Retired respiratory therapist, Soundview
Photographs by Frankie Alduino
