Latin Night at the Duce in downtown Phoenix began as a way to experience a night of social dancing and celebrate Latin music and culture within the community. Through dancing and learning the history of salsa and bachata, every Thursday is filled with the energy and vibrancy of dance lessons and open social dance hours that invite all levels to participate.
In 2017, co-creators of Latin Night, Sam Stephens and David Olarte, partnered with the Duce owners to create one night every week for social dancing — up until the start of the pandemic in 2020, the event took place almost every Thursday of every week.
“The actual reason why people come to Latin night every week, and why it “changes people’s lives” is because what we do is so welcoming and everyone [becomes] comfortable with each other,” Stephens said. “Everyone just gets out and dances — the environment socially is so accepting.”
The night begins at 8 p.m., and until 9 p.m., either salsa or bachata beginner-friendly lessons are given for the first hour, and the styles alternate weekly. After 9 p.m., it becomes open social dancing with DJ D-Lo playing a mix of Latin music styles including salsa, bachata, reggaeton, cumbia and more.
Olarte, who has been performing and teaching salsa dance for the last 20 years and is a renowned figure within the Arizona salsa community, teaches some of the lessons. Olarte is also a teacher at Arizona State University (ASU) for Latinx social dancing.
“Teaching the lesson is a huge part of it because we’re really teaching the techniques and the history, and then incorporating it into a social setting with an easy start-up and [allowing] to meet new people,” Stephens said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Latin Night at the Duce shut down, and Olarte and Stephens were unsure if it would return. While Olarte tried to teach online classes to keep some of the event circulation for the community, both agreed it wasn’t the same as in-person.
Earlier this year is when Latin Night at the Duce returned and held a huge welcoming event to invite everyone back in person.
“I was crying at some points in the night just because it was so nice to see everyone again, and everyone had a huge smile on their face,” Stephens said. “It was like when you haven’t seen a friend in a really long time, and when you finally reconnect, it’s like no time has passed at all — that’s how it felt when the community got back together again.”
Latin Night at the Duce is also LGBTQ+ friendly, beginner-friendly and open for anyone wishing to attend. While traditional styles of Latin social dancing involve a male lead and a female follow, anyone can dance with anyone, and lessons are given to female leads or male follows.
“Even if you’ve never danced before, if any part of [Latin Night] sounds like it could add value or excitement in some way, you should just come out and experience it,” Stephens said. “It’s the ultimate environment to just let go of all the stressful, outside things.”
Latin Night at the Duce posts updates and announcements on Facebook and Instagram. Stephens said there will be special and exciting upcoming events in 2022 that will be announced on social platforms within the next couple of months.
“Eventually, you’ll get addicted,” Stephens said. “We all do.”
Contact the reporter at jnwatso4@asu.edu.
Correction: This story has been edited to reflect the correct spelling of DJ D-Lo.
