This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wake Forest chapter.
By Amanda CalderónThe Guy with the ‘Fro: Gerson Lanza’s Killer Tap Skills and International Aspirations
I met Gerson Lanza, or as many of his close friends call him, “G”, early in my sophomore year. He had intrigued me from first glance—he always had headphones wrapped around his neck and his giant afro stuck out among a sea of frat swoop. I could tell that this guy was cool, really cool, and once I got the chance to actually get to know him, I found out that that Gerson is a Honduran immigrant highly skilled in tap dancing and whose drive for success brought him all the way to Wake.
Gerson was born and raised in Ceiba, Honduras until the age of 11 when he and his family moved to New York City. When asked about the move from Honduras to America, he said: “It was hard adapting to the new culture and way of living. The most difficult thing was learning the language. It was a bumpy ride for sure.”
While his ride may have been bumpy, he is “proud to be a Honduran immigrant” and seems to have acclimated just fine to American culture.
After moving to the U.S., Gerson soon discovered tap dancing. In the 8th grade he began tapping and learning the basics. Little did he know that this passion would open many doors in his future. At the beginning of his junior year, a friend persuaded him to buy his own tap shoes so the two could go out and perform in public. Gerson purchased his own shoes, and the two created steps in a park near his house in Harlem, complete with a wooden stage—perfect for tapping.
Both Gerson and his friend gained exposure by performing on the streets and in the park, enough to where people wanted to see them perform at entertainment venues. Through their street performances they made connections and were offered free tuition to attend Harlem School of the Arts for their senior year of high school. While attending this arts-based school, Gerson had time to focus and learn the meaning of tap as a dance form and as a way to express music with his feet.
His talents as a tap dancer even allowed him to get a gig in Queens, New York. The show, “Amor Latino,” was a flamenco-tap/jazz musical—his first off-Broadway performance. “Amor Latino ended up doing really well. We had a couple of sold-out nights, and for the most part it was full,” Gerson said. “The audience was about from 75 to 90 people. We had to do four shows a week and for about a month and a half.”
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It’s safe to say that a lot was happening for “G” in high school. Wake came into the picture when he went on a college tour along the eastern seaboard from New York to Atlanta. En route to Atlanta, he stopped by Hanes Mall and dropped in the Deacon Shop. There he saw posters of legendary basketball alumni Chris Paul and Tim Duncan in the storefront windows. After seeing some of Wake’s mega talent, he decided to get more information on the university and ultimately realized it “was a dope school.”
“I wanted a full college experience of living on campus, going to the basketball games and football games, and Wake offered that,” he said.
Every since his acceptance and arrival at Wake, Gerson has truly delved into the Wake community. He is president of Setting the Groove tap club, where he gets to “pass on the art form” and all that he has learned from attending both Harlem School of the Arts and countless tap festivals. “Tap dancing for me is a way to express myself as a dancer and as a musician,” he explained.
Gerson also works off campus at In Motions dance center where he teaches intermediate and advanced tap classes. Besides tapping, he is a member of OLAS (Organization of Latin American Students) and is a student manager for the Wake Forest women’s soccer team.
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Gerson, like many other Wake students, has also taken advantage of Wake’s wonderful study abroad programs. Last semester he traveled to Salamanca, Spain and traveled to London, Portugal and France. “My favorite place was Lagos, Portugal. The beaches were as if they were in a James Bond film, amazingly beautiful,” he said.
“Living in Spain was a life-changing experience that has encouraged me to continue to explore the world soon after graduation,” Gerson said. Ideally, he’d like to move to Spain for 2 years and become either a teacher or assistant history teacher.
“I love the Spanish culture and the way they go about certain things,” Gerson said. “They are easygoing and fun to talk to.” After teaching abroad, Gerson would like to go on to law school, hopefully at NYU, and focus on either entertainment or immigration law.
No matter where Gerson ends up, he’s sure to be successful with anything he puts his mind to, and he’ll do it all with a relaxed air about him. So no matter if you’ve met Gerson or not, be sure to be on the lookout for this awesome guy and his ‘fro, especially when he’s tapping, because he’ll put on a performance you won’t want to miss.
Check him out in this YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtrFmDdYmls.
*Photography courtesy of Amanda Calderón and Gerson Lanza
I met Gerson Lanza, or as many of his close friends call him, “G”, early in my sophomore year. He had
intrigued me from first glance—he always had headphones wrapped around his neck and his giant afro
stuck out among a sea of frat swoop. I could tell that this guy was cool, really cool, and once I got the
chance to actually get to know him, I found out that that Gerson is a Honduran immigrant highly skilled
in tap dancing and whose drive for success brought him all the way to Wake.
Gerson was born and raised in Ceiba, Honduras until the age of 11 when he and his family moved to New
York City. When asked about the move from Honduras to America, he said: “It was hard adapting to the
new culture and way of living. The most difficult thing was learning the language. It was a bumpy ride for
sure.”
While his ride may have been bumpy, he is “proud to be a Honduran immigrant” and seems to have
acclimated just fine to American culture.
After moving to the U.S., Gerson soon discovered tap dancing. In the 8th grade he began tapping and
learning the basics. Little did he know that this passion would open many doors in his future. At the
beginning of his junior year, a friend persuaded him to buy his own tap shoes so the two could go out and
perform in public. Gerson purchased his own shoes, and the two created steps in a park near his house in
Harlem, complete with a wooden stage—perfect for tapping.
Both Gerson and his friend gained exposure by performing on the streets and in the park, enough to
where people wanted to see them perform at entertainment venues. Through their street performances
they made connections and were offered free tuition to attend Harlem School of the Arts for their senior
year of high school. While attending this arts-based school, Gerson had time to focus and learn the
meaning of tap as a dance form and as a way to express music with his feet.
His talents as a tap dancer even allowed him to get a gig in Queens, New York. The show, “Amor Latino,”
was a flamenco-tap/jazz musical—his first off-Broadway performance. “Amor Latino ended up doing
really well. We had a couple of sold-out nights, and for the most part it was full,” Gerson said. “The
audience was about from 75 to 90 people. We had to do four shows a week and for about a month and a
half.”
It’s safe to say that a lot was happening for “G” in high school. Wake came into the picture when he went
on a college tour along the eastern seaboard from New York to Atlanta. En route to Atlanta, he stopped by
Hanes Mall and dropped in the Deacon Shop. There he saw posters of legendary basketball alumni Chris
Paul and Tim Duncan in the storefront windows. After seeing some of Wake’s mega talent, he decided to
get more information on the university and ultimately realized it “was a dope school.”
“I wanted a full college experience of living on campus, going to the basketball games and football
games, and Wake offered that,” he said.
Every since his acceptance and arrival at Wake, Gerson has truly delved into the Wake community. He
is president of Setting the Groove tap club, where he gets to “pass on the art form” and all that he has
learned from attending both Harlem School of the Arts and countless tap festivals. “Tap dancing for me is
a way to express myself as a dancer and as a musician,” he explained.
Gerson also works off campus at In Motions dance center where he teaches intermediate and advanced
tap classes. Besides tapping, he is a member of OLAS (Organization of Latin American Students) and is a
student manager for the Wake Forest women’s soccer team.
Gerson, like many other Wake students, has also taken advantage of Wake’s wonderful study abroad
program. Last semester he traveled to Salamanca, Spain and travelled to London, Portugal and France.
“My favorite place was Lagos, Portugal. The beaches were as if they were in a James bond film, amazingly
beautiful,” he said.
“Living in Spain was a life-changing experience that has encouraged me to continue to explore the world
soon after graduation,” Gerson said. Ideally, he’d like to move to Spain for 2 years and become either a
teacher or assistant history teacher.
“I love the Spanish culture and the way they go about certain things,” Gerson said. “They are easygoing
and fun to talk to.” After teaching abroad, Gerson would like to go on to law school, hopefully at NYU, and
focus on either entertainment or immigration law.
No matter where Gerson ends up, he’s sure to be successful with anything he puts his mind to, and he’ll do
it all with a relaxed air about him. So no matter if you’ve met Gerson or not, be sure to be on the lookout
for this awesome guy and his ‘fro, especially when he’s tapping, because he’ll put on a performance you
won’t want to miss.
*Photography courtesy of Amanda Calderón and Gerson Lanza
