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Hi I'm Erin, a first-year child nursing student. You are probably wondering why a student child nurse wants to be social secretary for a salsa society? Well, here's why.

I started salsa this academic year, and well, I love it! This society is full of amazing members and of course, the amazing committee. It would be an honour to fill their shoes next year and live up to what they created this year, especially regarding the social aspect. My favourite socials have been dancing until the AM in Backroom's 'Bella Gente' nights, and I would love to keep these amazing nights as traditional socials into next year. This society, of course, is all about dancing! I think it would be vital to continue the social dancing nights where many gather together to learn different aspects of the dance styles that the Salsa Society has to offer- Salsa, bachata, and merengue being the main ones. These nights were the highlights of my year in 2023/24 as I could bring all my close friends, who have never danced before, to enjoy what salsa has to offer. Additionally, the talents of our amazing instructors were made coherent, and I learned so much from them. I firmly believe that socials should bring the members of the Salsa Society closer together and establish friendships that will last a lifetime, and my goal is to create socials that will promote this. This can be done through larger, communal socials where members can bring whoever they want to enjoy a night of unforgettable social dancing, lessons, socialising, and you cannot forget, drinking (most of us are of Hispanic and Latin descent, we can't say no to a drink). Not only is it important to strengthen friendships, but also to form new ones and connect with those outside of the society. This is why creating socials where people can bring their friends is a must, and I feel it allows people to be more comfortable with dancing as this can be reaching out of their comfort zone. This will hopefully encourage new members to join as they can experience the
The most important question is, how will I advance the socials in the coming year? I have a few ideas.

As a dance society, I believe it is essential to connect our society to the other amazing dance societies and bridge all the different societies together. I can organise many socials through my many connections with other committee members across many dance societies at the University of Leeds. Some of these include modern dance, ballet, Irish dancing, and street dance. These socials will include dance lessons from a teacher of each style of dance, where socialisation and dancing across all backgrounds will be encouraged. This would encourage people to try new things and have a laugh at the same time. Otley Runs, clubbing nights, and sober socials will all be included, both in collaboration with other dance societies and within Salsa. This confirms that socials are available for everyone and their preferences.
After all, we are all attending university to have fun, make friends, and for us, perfect our salsa dancing. As a social secretary, this will be a guarantee.