Spanish Club members, Thespian Troupe 941 members and other members of the student body came together in the first of many collaborations between clubs that can be expected in the future. As the circle of students practiced the different steps, the latin music in the gym changed with the various dances they were taught.

The dancers were not only given the opportunity to learn something new, or develop upon a skill, but also to meet and interact with people they may not have met before while in a fun and laid-back environment.

Collaboration and interacting with others, especially in the workplace, is increasing more and more over time. According to Harvard Business Review, the amount of time spent on collaborative activities in the workplace has increased by at least 50 percent over the past two decades. As a result, this combined club meeting can give many students the opportunity to experience this even before the workplace.

This collaboration will also hopefully lead to the development of new friendships and the branching out of people’s comfort zones.

“I’ve done Latin dancing before at a Thespian conference and I am really excited to have a collaboration with another club because we know other people but we want to include more people in Thespians,” senior Emma Lansdowne, Thespians president, said “Anyone can do Thespian things, and so getting to know other people from other clubs is really fun for us.”

The instructor was Tim Gregory, who teaches Latin ballroom dancing and has even had the opportunity to influence some of the student’s lives before this particular instance.

“I had taken a lesson from Tim about a year ago and I knew he could teach it so I thought it would be fun to combine with that,” said Spanish Club and Thespian member Ashlyn Gillispie, senior.

This collaboration between these two clubs is setting a precedent that will be carried on throughout this year and hopefully into years to come.

“I think that the Thespians are planning on doing a poetry slam with BSU at some point; we’ve got other things we’re thinking about,” said Lansdowne. “We’re thinking about inviting other clubs to our coffee houses, nothing super concrete, but we have a lot of ideas.”