NIU students twisted, turned and swayed their hips to the music.

The CHANCE program offered students an opportunity Wednesday night to learn a bit of Latin dance at Stevenson North’s Sunset Room.

Veronica E. Garcia, a junior sociology and Spanish major, was in charge of teaching students new moves.

“We’re helping students, through dance, to get unstressed,” she said.

Garcia also said the turnout for the dancing was lower than she had hoped for.

CHANCE hopes to develop a separate organization that focuses on mentoring through dance, she said.

“Our focus is gang prevention,” she said. “Our goal is to have the students who come here to hold a dance.”

Freshman psychology major Mechelle Brown said using dance as an outreach is a nice idea, but only students who are really interested will attend.

Jasmine Alexander, a sophomore clinical laboratory science major, agreed.

“Only those who are willing to broaden their horizons will actually show an interest and show up,” she said. “They have to be able to let go of their street mentality.”

Marife Hernandez, a junior journalism and Spanish major, said she thinks the dancing unites people.

Garcia said she instructs students in salsa, meringue and bachata dancing. She added that there will be more opportunities for students to come by because she teaches dancing every other week.

“We’re hoping in the future that people will learn about this through word of mouth,” she said.

Chuck Stapleton, a senior mental and physical health major, said he thought the activity was a lot of fun.

“I think everybody is having a good time,” he said. “They get to learn at their own pace.”

Garcia agreed.

“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “If [students] want to come and have a good time, they should definitely show up.”