For the first time, OU’s Latin Dance Club will offer free admittance to its second-annual celebration of the Latin Ball Fiesta at 9 p.m. Sept. 17 in the Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Ballroom.

The Latin Ball Fiesta will include dancing, free food, a live salsa band and a free dance lesson before the event starts for students, faculty and anyone in the Norman community who wants to attend the event but are new to Latin dance.

The Latin Dance Club was founded in fall 2008 by Colombian-native Freddy Crespo, an exchange student and former president of the club.

“There was no such thing here at OU, so we [Crespo and two friends] started dancing salsa in the food court at noon to get people excited and then started salsa nights in New York Pizza,” said Crespo, a graduate student and the dance club’s student adviser.

Since its inception, the dance club has grown from three members to approximately 600 participants in last spring’s second International Salsa Ball in the Union and maintains an average of 60 people who regularly attend the club’s classes.

This universally-known dance is forming a melting pot of culture on OU’s campus, said Candace Stringfellow, communications senior and philanthropy chair for the club.

“There are people from all over the world who attend our events, people from South America, Spain, Turkey, Iran, Asia, United States and many more,” Stringfellow said. “Ages vary as well; from OU students to people who are over 50 attend our workshops.”

The club gives people an opportunity to learn about the world, said Diego Romero, mechanical engineering senior and vice president of the Latin Dance Club.

“I think in today’s society, and world as a whole, it pays to become a well-rounded person and that means becoming diverse and cultured,” Romero said.

“In order to really become aware of our surroundings and the whole world, we need to engage because you can’t try to understand what you don’t know.”

The club also has officers from Iran, Nigeria, Colombia and Thailand, said Khue Tran, electrical engineering junior and instructor chair of Latin Dance Club.

“Anyone would feel comfortable joining our group,” Tran said. “It’s also a huge stress reliever.”

The club’s workshops and events are not only physically rewarding but also mentally gratifying, said Amber Colley, non-profit senior and member of Latin Dance Club.

“If you let go of your fears and give it all you’ve got, I promise you will not regret joining,” Colley said. “Because of LDC I’ve begun trying things that I’ve always been too afraid to do. Never in my life did I think I would consider myself a dancer, now I do.”

Participating in Latin Dance Club provided many benefits to Crespo both as an exchange student and a future professional, he said.

“Thanks to [Latin Dance Club], I became a leader and a well-rounded person,” Crespo said. “I learned to be creative and work in groups plus it gave me a Family-[my]‘LDC Family.’”

“LDC has been the best experience of my life since I came to OU,” Crespo said.