Photo and article by Katie Potenzone
Students united at the Help for Haiti dance on February 26th in hopes of raising much needed funds for the shaken country of Haiti. Students from Hopkinton High School along with some students from Boston Latin School came together for a fun night of salsa dancing.

Sr. Barretto, a Spanish teacher at Hopkinton High, was in charge of the event and led the salsa dancing festivities. Combining salsa dancing instruction and raising money for the Haiti disaster, Sr. Baretto stated, “Everyone participated. We all had a great time.”

As a member of “Boston Rueda” dance club, Sr. Baretto was able to lead a fun night of dancing with the help of club members. After an hour or so of learning how to salsa dance, students were treated to a show by the “Boston Rueda” dance club. The club displayed a variety of dances including the Merengue, Bachata, and the traditional salsa dance.

“We tried to involve the students in every way,” explained Sr. Baretto, who talked about how students made all of the signs and baked all of the goods at the dance. The HHS dance club even made an appearance, performing a number for the attendees.

Sra. Manning, a Spanish teacher at HHS, was proud of the funds raised from the dance. “We raised an amount approaching $1000,” said Sra. Manning. A check will be sent to Partners in Health who will manage the funds for Haiti relief.

Another Hopkinton High Spanish teacher attending, Sra. Baldwin, concluded, “Everyone who attended [the dance] seemed to enjoy the evening’s activities.”

The dance proved successful, generating funds to help Haiti recover while creating a good time for students.