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Ritmos Latinos DancersRitmos Latinos is an organization at the University of Arizona that promotes latin music and dance to U of A students and Tucson salsa enthusiasts.This website will be utilized to promote and expose any dance and music-related activities that arise in our university and our community. Since its beginning, Ritmos Latinos has provided the Tucson community with a way for students to understand latin music and dance through the various classes offered.  In particular, Ritmos Latinos teaches Rueda de Casino which is a form of Cuban style salsa dancing. Read about the history of Rueda de Casino We hope that you enjoy this website and that you decide to become part of our wonderful U of A and Tucson community.

Ritmos Latinos Student Organization Constitution

ARTICLE I – Name The name of this organization shall be Ritmos Latinos. The organization is a student organization at The University of Arizona. ARTICLE II – Objectives The objectives of the organization shall be:

    1. To promote interest in Latino music and dance to the various cultures at the University of Arizona community.
    2. To provide fellowship among students and faculty.
    3. To represent student needs and wants in regards to Latino music and dance.
    4. To provide a forum for the presentation of innovative ideas to the benefit of the University community.

ARTICLE III – Membership

  1. Any student at The University of Arizona is eligible to be an active member and may hold office.
  2. Non-students may act as associate members, buy may not vote or hold office.

ARTICLE IV – Officers

  1. Election of Officers.
    1. The officers of this organization are three to six active members filling the following positions: president, treasurer  instruction coordinator, performance coordinator, music coordinator and membership coordinator.
    2. Election of officers will take place at a specified date each year.
    3. Officers will assume office for a period of one year.
  1. Recall of Officers.
    1. Officers are subject to recall for malfeasance in office.
    2. Recall procedure will be initiated at the request of ten active members &/or 2 officers of the organization.
    3. A 2/3-majority of those active members voting in a recall at the end of the hearing is necessary to remove any office.

ARTICLE V – Voting This constitution and by-laws may be amended by a majority of the officers, or a 2/3-majority vote of the active members voting. ARTICLE VI – Not-for-profit Statement This is a non-for-profit organization. ARTICLE VII – Statement of Non-discrimination This organization shall not discriminate on the basis of age, color, ethnicity, gender, national origin, disability or handicap, race, religion, sexual orientation, Vietnam Era veteran status. This policy will include, but is not limited to recruiting, membership, organization activities or opportunities to hold office. ARTICLE VIII – Financial Obligation A specific member or members, designated by this organization shall be responsible for payment in full of all debts accumulated by the organization not covered by funds on deposit. ARTICLE X – Statement of Non-Hazing This organization will not conspire to engage in hazing, participate in hazing, or commit any act that causes or is likely to cause bodily danger, physical harm, or personal degradation or disgrace resulting in physical or mental harm to any fellow student or person attending the institution. ARTICLE XI – Statement of Compliance with Campus Regulations This organization shall comply with all University and campus policies and regulations and local, state, and federal laws. BY LAWS

  1. Cabinet

A.     President

    1. Official representative of the organization.
    2. Liaison to University and Tucson community.
    3. Coordinates and organizes club activities with aid of officers and members.
    4. Promotes and encourages club involvement, including volunteerism of all members to help with club activities.
    5. Calls regular and special meetings.
    6. Assists in teaching dance classes.

B.     Treasurer 1.      Accounts for finances, including but not exclusive to paying club bills, balancing the checking account, informing the officers of club’s financial status and approving whether club has available funds to make proposed purchases and expenditures. 2.      Collects and deposits membership dues 3.      Assumes duties of President when necessary 4.      Assists in teaching dance classes. C.     Instruction Coordinator

    1. Coordinates instruction of dance classes, including location, times and instructors.
    2. Works with performance coordinator in coordinating performance activities and practices for performances.
    3. Assists in teaching dance classes.
    4. Assumes duties of Administrator when necessary.

D.    Performance Coordinator

    1. Liaison to University and Tucson community for performances.
    2. Arranges and coordinates performance activities for the organization, including assisting recruitment and organization of current members to perform.
    3. Assists instruction coordinator in the organization of activities.
    4. In charge of keeping track of performances.
    5. Assists in teaching dance classes.

E.     Music Coordinator

    1. Responsible for coordination instructional music (Salsa) to be present at all dance classes of the organization.
    2. Assists in teaching dance classes.

F.      Membership Coordinator

    1. Recruits members
    2. Collects membership applications and assist treasurer in collecting membership dues.
    3. Assists in teaching dance classes.
  1. Meetings

General Meetings will be open to all organization active and associate members, faculty, and Student Program representatives. The meetings are to be organized and controlled by officers. Participation in dance classes is limited to all organization active and associate members. Students, faculty and Student Program representatives who are not active or associate members may observe at any time.  The meetings are to be organized and controlled by officers and instructors. The President may call special meetings of officers and instructors for purposes of the administration, planning and coordination dance classes and organization activities.

  1. Membership Dues

Active and associate members are required to pay a membership due per semester, to be determined by a majority of the officers each semester.  Membership dues are waived for the officers and regular instructors.  (Regular instructors make a commitment to the organization to be present and instruct at all classes, or find an able substitute in the event they are required to be absent.)


Classes

Spring 2013 Semester Class Schedule

Class Level Beginner Beginner Intermediate I Advanced II Intermediate II
Day Monday Tuesday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
Instructors Angelee and Mike Peggy and Pedro Dale and Rachel Mohan and Erin Ron and Nina
Location McClelland Hall(map) McClelland Hall(map) McClelland Hall(map) McClelland Hall(map) McClelland Hall(map)
Time 7:00 PM to 8:15 PM 6:00 PM to 7:15 PM 7:30 PM to 8:45 PM 7:00 PM to 8:15 PM 7:00 PM to 8:15 PM

          NOTE: Classes will begin on the week of February 4th.

List of Combinations

You can find the list of combinations taught at Ritmos Latinos here: ritmoslatinos.org/rueda-de-casino


Members

Advantages for Members
As a member of Ritmos Latinos you have the following advantages:

1) You will be able to follow intensive Rueda de Casino courses every week of the school year taught for free by enthusiastic salsa freaks.

2) You support the salsa environment in Tucson, thereby ensuring that it will be there for you in the future as well.

3) You will dance a lot of salsa and get to know lots of other people from the Rueda de Casino environment.

Membership Fee

The membership fee for Ritmos Latinos is $30 per semester with a CatCard and $40 otherwise. A receipt of entry into Ritmos Latinos will be given to you when paying for you membership to Ritmos Latinos.

The Listserv

The list serv will be used to inform all enlisted about events in the Tucson area. It can also be used by the members to gather people to different private arrangements e.g. salsa trips to Phoenix, LA, NY, salsa parties etc. Please refer to the FAQ section of this website for instructions on how to subscribe and unsubscribe from the listserv.

Website

RitmosLatinos new website is now www.ritmoslatinos.org. Here you can read about events, Rueda de Casino history, music, view pictures, etc.

Salsa Tips

The best advise if you want to learn to dance salsa is to take classes and to practice the steps on the salsateques as much as possible. Salsa is fun at all levels and this should be your mindset. It is always nice to dance with an enthusiastic person.

BTW – you do not need a dance partner to take lessons – just go take the class – usually they will change partners all the time during lessons.
The salsa environment has been in Tucson for only 3 years now which means that you will have a fairly good chance of being among the best dancers fairly quickly if you are enthusiastic. We have provided a list (non-exhaustive) of the best places to learn salsa and where to go dance salsa – enjoy – we hope to see you on the salsa scene.

Teaching

Of course we recommend you to follow courses by Ritmos Latinos, but if you are interested in learning other styles, go here:  www.tucsonsalsa.com/classes

Salsateques

Check out www.tucsonsalsa.com/clubs for a complete list.


Forward

Learn to dance with us!

Ritmos Latinos is currently offering three class levels: Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Rueda de Casino.

IMPORTANT: It is the students' responsibility to practice and master all dance patterns exposed in every session.