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PREVIEW Big Salsa Night Tonight, 8 p.m. – midnight Ackerman Grand Ballroom, FREE

UCLA students walk a lot. Now it’s time to dance.

Tonight in Ackerman Grand Ballroom, the Ballroom Dance Club and International Folk Dance Club are hosting their sixth annual Big Salsa Night and 19th annual New Student Welcome.

UCLA students, staff, faculty and alumni are all invited to partake in the club’s first event of the year.

“Dance brings people together in a unique way, and to have this opportunity with different people across campus is what it’s all about,” said Cynthia Harper, dance instructor for the club.

For the first hour, starting at 8 p.m., step-by-step salsa lessons will be taught. Participants will have the opportunity to learn the dance from two guest instructors.

Partners will be frequently switched throughout the hour, so participants are welcome to come alone or with a group of friends.

“You really don’t need to bring a partner,” said Claire Moore-Cantwell, a second-year astrophysics and linguistics student and co-president of BDC/IFDC.

“If you just learn the dance with just one person, you accommodate to each others’ weaknesses. When you switch partners, you get better.”

Los Angeles-style salsa is the focus of this year, mainly because of its rise in popularity, but also because of its overall appeal to many.

“It’s a very popular style of dancing right now,” Harper said. “Your shoulder starts to go, and your hips start to swing – you just can’t help but to move to it.”

After the salsa lessons from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., there will be open dance from 9 p.m. until midnight.

During the open dance period, noted musician Francisco Aguabella and his professional Latin Jazz Ensemble will perform live to accompany the dancers.

Aguabella has performed at this event for years. In addition to being a world-renowned drummer, he’s also part of the UCLA family.

“He’s been playing for us for years,” said Mary Collins, a second-year music history student and co-president of BDC/IFDC. “And it’s really cool that he’s affiliated with UCLA and not some random performer.”

Aguabella, an adjunct assistant professor in the ethnomusicology department at UCLA, has toured all over the country and abroad.

He and his band have a Cuban sound that focuses on percussion with touches of the cha-cha, jazz and salsa.

Salsa Night provides an opportunity for people to connect with both Cuban/Latin music and ethnology. It aims to teach lessons in dance, culture and community.

“It’s a good multicultural experience,” Moore-Cantwell said. “(You can) experience of all kinds of dance, and experience all different kinds of culture.”

The purpose for the event is also to interact and gain new relationships with the people of UCLA. Whether for a new student or a fourth-year, BDC/IFDC hopes to create unity on campus.

“I’m hoping that (people) meet new friends and feel that UCLA is a very welcoming place for them,” said James Zimmer, founding president of BDC/IFDC. “A lot about what you learn in college is about your social interactions with people, and they’re going to experience this (here), along with this wonderful combination of Cuban culture and rhythm.”

Bringing new experiences to UCLA and presenting ideas of music, culture and fun to the start of a new year is the goal for the evening.

“Dancing is not the connection with you and your partner; it also connects you with the music as well,” Harper said. “The point is to learn some dancing and hear some music (you’ve) never heard before, and try steps that are new.”