Happy! Dance in Dominican Republic - Angela Izmirian

Beach at Dominican Republic

I love to dance. I have been dancing probably since I was in the fourth grade, but when I went to graduate school, I didn’t have much time to dance because I was spending most of my time either studying or at my internship.



This is Angela!

However, when I went to the Dominican Republic, I was able to reconnect with my love to dance. Every night of my trip, live music would play and professional dancers would encourage us to try our moves. I was able to learn how to dance Salsa, Bachata, and Merengue.

On top of doing something that I loved, I was able to feel like I was getting immersed into the culture and learn more about the people. While dancing, I was able to talk with people from the Dominican Republic and learn about the culture through the natives. I learned about the struggle that people from that country experience, such as the financial and health concerns. Some of the professional dancers were performing in order to help support their family.

I was able to get a perspective that I otherwise would not have gotten if I had not opened myself to experiencing my surroundings.

 I am happy that I experienced the subculture of dancing because I feel like I was able to get a more personal perspective into the country that many tourists do not experience. –Angela Izmirian, Graduate Student/Study Abroad Advisor