Liberal Arts students blend dance and culture in new Spanish course

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Victor Frolenko and Elana Laing are two of the four Penn State undergraduates teaching their own course this semester through Students Teaching Students, which enables undergraduate students to teach official courses of their own design under the guidance of a sponsoring faculty adviser.

The one-credit course — SPAN 197 Merengue and More: Latin Dance Lessons and Artist Study — explores the rich world of Spanish music and culture by combining two main elements: dance instruction and lyrical analysis.

Frolenko, a fourth-year student double majoring in Spanish and nutritional sciences with a minor in neuroscience, is one of the course instructors, along with Laing, a third-year student double majoring in Spanish and public relations.

Frolenko described the course as a “cultural class with a lot of hands-on learning.”

In the course, students explore and learn dances to a range of traditional Spanish dance styles, including bachata, merengue, cumbia and salsa. In addition to learning the choreography, they are working in groups to present the history behind each dance style and will end the course with a showcase, demonstrating what they've learned. The class focuses on understanding the unique characteristics of each style through music and movement.

“By the end of the class, students should know the difference between the forms. That will help them dance because when I started learning four years ago, the hardest part was identifying the song and what style of dance it was,” Frolenko said.

Frolenko and Laing decided to create the course together after meeting in the Caliente Dance Company at Penn State. They serve as dance partners throughout the course.

“We both share a passion for dancing salsa, merengue, bachata and cumbia,” Laing said. “I also grew up dancing West African dance styles with a performing arts ensemble in grade school.”

Music and movement have always been parts of Laing’s life. “I know first-hand how crucial dancing with others was to building my community at Penn State, so I wanted to share that skill with others,” said Laing, a State College, Pennsylvania, native.

Frolenko, who is originally from Bucks County, Pennsvylvania, said his inspiration for teaching this course came from his role as president of the Social Dance Club, as well as his passion for teaching. He previously served as a teaching assistant and a learning assistant for various classes, which has influenced his ideas on learning in the classroom. With a focus on minimal lectures, this course dives straight into dancing.

Frolenko's academic interest as a Spanish major also influenced his decision to teach this course, he said.

“My vision for it, if I ever continue with this, would be to actually teach Spanish but through more of an artistic approach, like dance and music, because that’s the way to really captivate people and spark the motivation to learn,” Frolenko said.

Students in the course also have the opportunity to learn the lyrics of the songs, including translating the chorus to ensure a deeper understanding and gain insight into the artists behind the music they’re learning to dance to. They will also have the opportunity to apply their knowledge into real social settings.

“We have some cultural assignments where they have to go into the community and find Latin dance events and participate in them,” Frolenko said.

He added that he hopes that students will gain enough confidence to join in on social dances when they hear Spanish music at birthday parties or while traveling, allowing them to fully engage with and participate in the culture.

“After this class, you should have the confidence, the skills and the experience to social dance in whatever environment,” he said.

Frolenko explained how his Liberal Arts education prepared him to teach as an undergraduate. Being open-minded and individualistic is something he said he learned from the College of the Liberal Arts.

“My Liberal Arts education has helped me think very individually and out of the box, so that is why I’m approaching Spanish teaching in this sense,” Frolenko said. “This course is something fun and unique.”

Frolenko emphasized that the course is open to everyone, regardless of prior dance experience.

“This might be the beginning to someone actually finding a new passion or a new hobby — or just finding the confidence in oneself to dance,” he said.