At 6:30 p.m. every Friday, SOU’s very own Dance Club meets in the Stevenson Union, room 315, to schedule practices and talk about upcoming events, workshops and their end of the year performance: the Spring Showcase.
Every two weeks they put on a dance workshop for both students in the club and any students who want to get some exercise and dance. “I think it’s a good way to get to know the community and make friends, and it’s a really good workout,” said Jennifer Riddick, club president.
The club itself is loosely structured, with members showing up to meetings and workshops whenever they have time.
“I wanted to be a part of something that’s more open, and [with] the Dance Club… I’m able to choreograph, I’m able to do a solo, [and] there are workshops,” said Raynna Jackson, a returning member. “There’s a lot of opportunities without me having to stress on always being there and paying a lot of fees.”
Spring Showcase
The only part with hard practices and deadlines is the Spring Showcase, a performance that gives the more serious dancers a place to express themselves.
“It takes a lot of teamwork to put this on, and from all these different types of people,” said Riddick. “I started planning this at the beginning of fall term… [but] right after our last show we had to reserve the space.”
In the showcase, multiple dances are performed, with members of the club signing up to both choreograph and perform in other people’s pieces.
“It takes a lot of effort from everyone, not just me,” said Riddick. “It’s mostly collaboration among other students, but I typically do [choreograph] five or six pieces.”
Julia Delucchi, a returning member, explained that in the past the club’s president and vice president will create most of the showcase dances, but the club’s leadership opened up choreography to anyone. “You can go to meetings and talk about what pieces you want to make and how many dancers you need, and then you can create whatever you want,” she said.
How much time and effort dancers put into the showcase, however, depends completely on them. For Raynna Jackson, the time spent adds up. “I ended up signing up for nine dances [last year],” said Jackson. “I had dance performances one after another and it was the best time of my life.”
While the showcase is what the club works towards at the end of the year, it isn’t required for anyone in the club to perform. The club is there for anyone who loves or wants to learn dance, in whatever capacity they want to do it. Just show up, say you’re interested, and have fun from there.
“I think it makes me appreciate dance more because I’m genuinely having fun with it,” said Delucchi. “You’re just surrounded by so many people who like to dance so it reminds you how much you like to dance and it really just is fun.”
