Matias Jonsson and Irina Yarovoi, owners of Apasionado Dance in Pittsburgh, will present “Tales from the Dance Floor” on Thursday, Oct. 19, at the Butler Little Theatre. Submitted Photo

The deep and complex roots of Latin dance will be revealed at “Tales from the Dance Floor: The Hidden History of Western Hemisphere Partner Dances” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at the Butler Little Theatre.

The free event will be a presentation on the history and culture of partner and group dances of Latin America and the Western Hemisphere with dance demonstrations throughout.

The program is being offered as part of the Butler Area Public Library’s “Un Libro, Un Butler!” program.

The event will be conducted by Matias Jonsson and Irina Yarovoi, owners of Apasionado Dance, a Pittsburgh dance studio.

The impact of regional pressures in Latin America and the Western Hemisphere, including colonization, native subjugation and enslavement, will by explained through the spoken word and dance.

“In every corner of the Americas, people in the direst of circumstances created intricate and beautiful dances,” said Yarovoi.

Influenced by circumstances such as joy, resistance, religion, history, competition and escape, these dances remain alive today, she said.

“For ourselves, having a dance studio is a unique opportunity to share with people, not just how to enjoy movement to music, but also why these movements exist,” Jonsson said. “Not many dance studios take this approach, but for us, it’s pivotal.”

“Tales from the Dance Floor” is made possible through the support of the Robert E. and Helen Nixon Forsythe Foundation.

More information on this library program is available at butlerlibrary.info/unlibro.