The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and among the students headed to class, freshman David Negron is salsa dancing on the side of Freedom Plaza.
It’s a typical day for Negron, who, in the span of a month, has become known far and wide on the Belmont campus as “the salsa-dancing man.”
However, he primarily started dancing for an assignment.
“I started for the main purpose of this health and fitness class I have in the morning because every Sunday we have to submit 30 minutes or two miles worth of activity,” said Negron. “But as I got more into it, I started to actually learn more and it got to be really fun.”
He was in part inspired by his mother to use dancing as his form of exercise, pairing his knowledge of dance from home with YouTube tutorials to perform.
“My mother’s Puerto Rican, and so I would see her dance every now and then whenever she would clean,” said Negron. “And I guess I picked up on that because it runs in my blood.”
Dancing has also become a way for Negron to venture out of his comfort zone.
“Before I really even started dancing, my social anxiety would more than often take over,” said Negron “And because of that, I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to talk to people. And I feel like dance has helped flesh myself out.”
“It definitely takes confidence to go out there and do that,” said Alex Locke, Negron’s roommate. “He’s doing something he loves.”
Negron had no idea that his dancing would make him a campus-wide celebrity.
“I’ve seen the posts online, like people who say I do it for attention. To some extent, I agree with it because I’m human, I enjoy the attention, but that’s not the sole purpose. I do it to spread positivity.”
Negron has other passions besides salsa dancing. He dabbles in music production, as well participating in a Lipscomb bible study group, which has led to him planning to switch his major to Biblical studies.
He also enjoys gaming.
“He’s a big enthusiast on gaming, his favorite game is God of War,” said Locke.
Negron plans to continue dancing once the class is over, but he’s unsure if he will be performing as frequently.
He does hope to make a positive impact on Belmont’s community.
“It’s the highlight of my day, I just enjoy making people happy,” he said.
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This article was written by Anna Blubaugh