by Derrick Warren, News Correspondent
Don’t wait for fall classes to start to enroll in one of Northeastern’s dance lessons – they’re happening now. This summer students can take advantage of a variety of summer dance lessons and workshops.
No Limits Dance Crew
For a dance club that was founded just five years ago, No Limits Dance Crew is holding strong as it prepares to conclude its third year of summer workshops. No Limits Dance Crew offers lessons on Mondays and some Thursdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. According to Co-President Gabriel Colon-Sciabarrasi, a junior business major, No Limits Dance Crew runs on the platform of “giving everyone the chance to dance.” Given that ethos, most of the classes are introductory and teach basic technique.
The most popular class is hip-hop, but there are a few others, including jazz and tap. While attendance is not as high in the summer, there’s still a good turn-out. In fact, some students find the smaller classes to be more helpful, group leaders said. “There’s pros and cons – a lot of people like the personal attention and the different environment that summer classes offer,” said Colon-Sciabarrasi said.
No Limits Dance Crew will host its last summer workshop on Monday, Aug. 20.
NU Ballroom Dance Club
For something with a more classical twist, head over to the Northeastern Ballroom Dance Club on Tuesdays from 7 to 10 p.m. The club offers a summer session every week, where lessons range from international rumba, tango, salsa, American waltz, swing and the cha cha. The club strives to get beginners involved by teaching just enough so when they walk in they can start dancing, according to the club’s president, Taylor Sehein, a senior environmental science major. A typical lesson includes a demonstration of basic footwork, in which participants can get a feel of the dance and see the big picture before the actual lesson begins, Sehein said.
The demographic for the summer is different than in the fall for the club, group leaders said. “Most of the classes have 15 people or less, and most of the time are made up of graduate students,” said Schein. The club offers several styles of dance. Therefore, the group likes to spend the first part of the lesson teaching the new dance, and the remainder going over what was learned the past week, so participants can get up to speed quickly. The most popular dance so far this summer has been swing, Sehein said. “People tend to enjoy dancing to music they can relate to,” said Schein.
NU Dance Company
The Northeastern Dance Company has something big to celebrate this fall – they’re turning 10, and will have just finished their ninth year of summer workshops. The company hosts summer classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m. The club uses its website, NUDANCO.com, to advertise which particular lesson will be taught, and which choreographer will teach it. Most classes are warm-ups and short combos of a particular dance. The NU Dance Company even gets involved with freshman orientation, and has had a few incoming freshmen stop by for summer lessons before auditions start in the fall.
Grace Aresennault, a junior communications and business major and member of the club, said that participants never know what they’re going to get in one of the lessons.
“There’s people who haven’t danced since middle school to people who have been dancing forever that show up,” said Aresennault.
The company will hold summer lessons until Thursday, Aug. 30.
All summer lessons are free of charge and open to Northeastern students and the surrounding community.
