When UHD junior Vanessa Pinon and her salsa dance team competed in Japan, they won a coveted spot at this year’s fourth annual World Salsa Championships in Florida, but Pinon first checked her UHD final exam schedule to make sure she could go to the December event.
“My final ends at 2 p.m. and I’ll have 45 minutes to get to the airport,” Pinon said. “I tell our younger dancers, you can’t just dance – you have to get a degree.”
The 21-year-old business major attends UHD full time and also runs the reKreation Dance team, training young dancers in the dynamic salsa routines that will send Pinon, partner Lauro Lopez, 22, and several other team members to Hollywood, Florida, this month to compete with the best salsa team from around the world. Many of the performances will be televised on ESPN.
“We had three standing ovations in Japan, and we have a really good chance in Florida,” Pinon said. The dancers hope their success in Japan will help the team earn sponsorships and funding. It’s a hectic schedule, but Pinon is committed to succeeding at both – college and salsa.
The dance troupe practices Friday through Sunday in a rented studio in northwest Houston. Competitions generally take place on weekends.
Pinon takes her books on the road, using every spare minute to study, and she applies the business principles she is learning to the dance team’s operation, especially principles in organizational management.
“It took a lot of hard work, with studying, practicing and managing the team,” Pinon said. “Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming. But I stay focused and try to manage my time.”
She also offers an exemplary role model to the younger dancers in reKreation, who range in age from 9 to 22. Dancers’ careers can be fleeting, and by their late 20s, injuries and life outside dance often interfere. Pinon hopes her studies and determination to earn her business degree at UHD influence the young members of her group to pursue higher learning.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 / Patti Muck
