Music, dance highlighted

PALMER — Following the Machetanz Arts Festival June 1, Mat-Su College was the site of a first-time festival organized by La Tertulia, the UAA Student Spanish Club. Students organized a pair of Dominican Music and Dance Festivals, one in the Valley and a second at the Anchorage campus June 1-2.

The Dominican Music and Dance Festival at the Palmer campus started with a one-hour bachata dance class donated by Alaska Dance Promotions’ professional instructors in the atrium. That was followed by a world-renowned Dominican artist Joan Soriano, who played a two-hour concert with his band, featuring Dominican percussion instruments like the tambora, the guira and the bongo.

Dominican folkloric dancer Altagracia Guillen and the Alaska Dance Promotions’ semi-pro team also performed Latin dance routines during the first-time festival.