Salsa, spins and socials with the Latin Dance Society

Learning how to dance merely scratches the surface of the wonderfully vibrant Latin Dance Society.

Published on the 01 June 2026

A group photo of the UNSW Latin Dance Society at their 2025 End of Year ball

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What exactly is the UNSW Latin Dance Society?

There are those who run. Others want to cheer and perform. Some love trains. And then we have those who simply must DANCE... in an energetic yet smooth-as-silk way.

Founded circa 2010 (allegedly, the origin point is a bit spotty), the UNSW Latin Dance Society is all about showcasing the rhythmic moves and dance styles from Latin America. With close to 300 members, 100 of whom are showing up every week to dance their hearts away, this isn't some niche either. This is a growing and highly engaged club with members beyond current UNSW students.

"We've got alumni, we've got friends that we've made in the broader Latin dance community. We've got people that aren't even students at uni," says Clayton Isaacs, a Politics/Philosophy/Economics student by day and Events Director for the society by night.

"We got a few USYD members, [some] UT and some Macquarie members, because we're the superior society," laughs Mia Williams, President of the society and a Science/Commerce student.

While several styles fall under the Latin dance umbrella, Clayton says the society primarily focuses salsa and bachata. "Every week we have our two [salsa and bachata] classes that we run. For each of those, we get outside professional teachers to come in and they teach everyone for about an hour.

"Beyond that, we're [also] super proud of hosting a social at the end of every term. We host it at a venue, whether that's the Roundhouse or somewhere else in Sydney. We get a DJ to come out, we have a theme and we decorate the whole thing."

Mia adds: "We [previously] had an enchanted forest theme, like fairies, flowers and a garden. At some events, we'll do something like a 'Jack and Jill' contest [where it's] rounds of partner dancing and a judge who picks out the best. We've even had other dance styles that we don't typically do, like tango or rumba."

The secret to Latin dancing? Just do it!

Now dancing, especially something as flowing and aesthetically pleasing as Latin dancing, can pretty intimidating to newcomers. But those interested in learning need not worry because whether you're a pro or a newcomer, the society caters to all skill levels.

As Clayton puts it, the biggest barrier to dancing is mostly mental: "It's one thing to say 'Oh I can't dance', it's another thing to feel like you can't dance, right? That's a massive barrier stopping you from enjoying it. We [try to] hit it from two different angles of helping people enjoy it while developing the skill set at the same time to go along with it."

"Tuesdays we do salsa and on Wednesdays we do bachata. For both of those, we do a range of skill levels.

"So regardless of people who have never danced before in their life, people that have some dance experience, like Mia when she joined, or people familiar with Latin Dance, it's a great place to pop in."

Clayton Isaacs
UNSW Latin Dance Society Events Director

To help ease newcomers into the society, some of the weekly classes are aimed towards beginners. Mia points out that many new members are often surprised to learn that they can, in fact, dance upon joining the society and taking a lesson. After learning some basic moves, newcomers quickly realise that those fancy moves are now a reality rather than some fantasy.

"We have dedicated beginner classes every single week [with] professional teachers," Clayton explains. "What [the teachers] do for a living is teaching people who've never danced before in their life, who think they cannot dance in the slightest, how to dance.

"The teachers are absolutely phenomenal. They're amazing. I think the teachers and their ability to make people enjoy that learning process is one of the biggest draws of the society and is what brings so many people back."

There's also no need to worry about falling behind in the dance progression curve, either. Classes will go at the pace that anyone needs, plus more seasoned members are always available to help.

"I [may] take a bunch of our beginners at the end of every class and just chill for an hour. If you have any questions, if you want me or anyone else in the society to show you anything," says Clayton. "If you want to practise, let's spend some time outside of the tight structure of a class to just feel the dance in an environment where we're not learning it, we're experiencing it."

For those wondering if there's a secret to dancing, there is... technically.

"Practise!" laughs Mia.

"Practise outside of class. Find a friend and say, 'hey, can we practise this move I learned in class?' You just do that a couple of times. Even better, there are plenty of places in Sydney to go dance, so grab a group of friends and go."

Latin Dance Society Treasurer, Kin, notes that while Latin dance is seemingly romantic and intimate on the outside, all nerves or anxiety about making friends are dropped once you start dancing: "[Latin] dancing is supposed to be romantic right? Much of the time we don't even know [our partner's name]. But once you [start], you realise there's no 'magic' and you just dance for fun. You don't even need to know who they are!

Nice to dance with you and then meet you, in that order

Latin dancing is unique in that it is typically a physical activity involving a partner — often a stranger — with whom you're in close physical contact with. As such, there's very little time between hellos and diving straight into a dancing sesh.

For Latin Dance Society newcomer and new Electrical Engineering graduate, Ali Farahmand, dancing with new people was one of his most stressful moments upon joining: "You don't know anyone, [so] it's a bit hard, but then the first [person] you ask, you [may] get rejected and sit down for the next half an hour."

Rejection is a tough thing to deal with, but Ali stresses that within the environment of the Latin Dance Society, a 'no' is never personal.

"There can be a million reasons why someone is saying no. They could have just been on their feet dancing their heart out for 45 minutes and want to take a breather," says Clayton. "It's about creating an environment where everyone understands that, and a community that's safe and welcoming."

"Because we cycle through who we're dancing with, as Latin dancing is always partner dancing.

"You cycle through everyone and over the course of like an hour, you will talk to like 40 different people.

"You'll do your brief introductions and you'll [become] friends with those 40 different people!"

Clayton Isaacs
UNSW Latin Dance Society Events Director

One main tenet of the society under Mia is to foster a positive culture that doesn't encourage negative rejection.

At this point, Ali recalls a funny moment during his first couple of weeks at the society: "I actually remember asking Mia [to dance] and she said no. I was kind of afraid of her after that [laughs]."

"I'm so sorry!" Mia exclaims. "I was doing some assignments and was probably tired!"

"We had tango class the next day, she came up to me and asked for a dance, so everything is resolved," laughs Ali.

Ali's lighthearted anecdote is a great example of how not only is rejection never personal, but the club is also about being respectful when asking people to dance. As he puts it: "The secret is to not be pushy. It's just a normal ask, do you want to dance or not?"

For Lim Siew Kin, a Marine Biology student and Secretary for the Latin Dance Society, he notes that an understated but equally important aspect of the club's culture is that any person can dance either the lead or follower role, regardless of gender. By breaking down those traditional dancing roles, he says it helps create an inclusive and encouraging environment for everyone.

As Latin dance is essentially a partnership, proper etiquette and respect is instilled very early on for beginners to ensure that everyone within the society is on the same page (or step).

"We teach non-verbal signals [puts hands out], like this means 'would you like to dance?" Mia explains. "The other person could take their hand, and then you just dance. We just drum in the idea that if someone says no, that's no.

"We try to teach etiquette from the very beginning. Don't tug on anyone, don't push anyone and be gentle. There's a right and wrong way to ask someone to dance."

A community that's in step with one another

Dancing with people in such a vibrant manner results in fast friendships forming, unsurprisingly. As a result, there's a healthy hangout vibe that's inadvertently been cultivated within the Latin Dance Society.

"It's not technically official, but the good thing about the society is that when people make friends, they tend to stick around with each other after [dance] class," says Mia. "A lot of my good friends came from [dance] class and there have been so many random things that I've done with them."

Despite feeling nervous at the beginning, Ali managed to find his place and people within the society, noting that while he didn't purposely plan on making friends, it just happened organically.

"At the beginning, I was a bit afraid and stressed, [but] I just chilled out, made friends and it's one of the best experiences that I had at UNSW," he recalls.

Beyond the social and physical upsides of being part of the society, Kin highlights the positive impact it has had on his mental health: "I normally study the whole day, and I will feel so tired. But after I dance in the evening, I feel so fresh and happy that I can go back to study until midnight [laughs]."

"I use dancing to put structure to my study. If we've got a class on at 6pm and it's 1 o'clock, I should probably study while I'm at uni for the next five hours," says Clayton.

For Mia, Latin dance is an endorphin rush of the best kind: "It uses your memory and challenges you a little bit, but it's not so challenging it makes you upset. Like exercise, it boosts endorphins, right? It gets you pumped and something to like be excited for at the end of the day. If I study now, I'll be able to reward myself with a fun dance with my friends."

With such a thriving community, what's next for the Latin Dance Society?

"I really enjoyed how I introduced a tango class [in T1 2026] and getting more dance styles in would be really great because Latin Dance is more than just salsa and bachata," says Mia. "It's about trying new things, learning different things and getting people exposed to as many different experiences as possible.

"We've been trying to collaborate with more societies as well, like the Spanish and Latin American Societies. We're always looking to like share our skills with whoever's interested!"

"It's actually a very good friendship activity because it's empathy building of a kind. You understand the person in a different kind of way. You learn something together and you build a connection without speaking.

"Every single person you dance with, it's a different experience. You see their personality through their movement and it's just a very different way to like communicate with people."

Mia Williams
UNSW Latin Dance Society President