What You Need To Know About Columbia's Student Dance Group Auditions

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16 September, 2021

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY KATIE LEVINE SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 After an entirely virtual academic year with no in-person performances, Columbia's student dance groups are ready to take the stage. As they restart showcases, dance lessons, and video productions, as well as randomly approach people on campus, dancers are excited to be back in the same space as one another, with an audience to hype them up. Despite escaping the loneliness of Zoom, performance groups' reintroduction to campus studios and performance spaces poses a new set of challenges, including space reservations, COVID-19 protocols, and mindfulness around mental health and wellness. Nevertheless, dance groups look forward to welcoming new and returning students to their communities. Onyx As Columbia's "elite pre-professional hip-hop group," Onyx Dance Troupe empowers women through the power, beauty, and engagement of hip-hop dance. Onyx encourages anyone to audition, as it emphasizes the bonds of sisterhood to connect with and uplift each other. Onyx President Justice Robinson, BC '22, stressed the group's excitement for in-person performances and the return to campus. "There's nothing like dancing in a studio together. [It] absolutely can't be replicated in Zoom in the same way that class can. … There's no equivalent," Robinson said. Onyx will hold general auditions on Thursday, Sept. 16, which will be followed by callbacks over the weekend. In addition to appearing at performances that generally occur each fall, such as the Chinese Students Club's Night Market, Onyx will incorporate aspects of its previous virtual planning into the group's in-person return, with Zoom choreography classes, Instagram lives, and engagement with the New York City hip-hop community. "As a team, we kind of have made this—it's not really a shift per se, but an emphasis on being active, actively knowing the history of hip-hop dance, and particularly the impact that it has had in New York City," Robinson noted. "And particularly, the contribution that Black communities have made toward hip-hop dance." Columbia China Dance Columbia China Dance specializes in traditional Chinese dance, exploring various styles of Chinese traditional dance. This fall, the Columbia China Dance group will be holding auditions on Sept. 25 and will host in-person performances. Over the past year, the group held online practices each week and offered open classes in the fall rather than auditions. With members spread across the globe, the group continued to learn solo dances, film themselves, and edit the video together. "[It was] a good way to make practices more accessible, especially for people who can't make it to practices all the time," president Elaine Zhu, CC '22, said. "And it's pretty convenient because now we can use the dances we learned during the virtual semester and perform them in person." Taal Taal, a South Asian classical fusion dance group, performs classical and modern contemporary Indian dance. Auditions for this fall will take place over Oct. 2 and 3 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Interested dancers can come for any one-hour slot during that time. Taal typically practices three times a week during the in-person school year, and the group will resume that schedule this fall. While remote, the group held frequent practices over Zoom and sought to engage with the community over social media by curating choreography specifically for short, easily absorbed posts. "The things that we did during practice were also kind of tailored to things that we could present on social media. So typically, we do have longer pieces that are like five minutes longer. This year, we actually did kind of shorter choreography that was like a minute long or so, so it'd be easier to share on Instagram and Facebook," co-captain Dipashreya Sur, BC '23, said. CU Ballroom CU Ballroom offers ballroom and Latin styles of dance in an effort to introduce those with little to no ballroom experience to the "joy of the activity," according to vice president and treasurer Jonathan Raghoonanan, CC '22. The group does not hold any auditions, and there are no expectations of any experience upon joining. On Sept. 27, CU Ballroom will hold its first meeting in the Lerner Party Space, which will consist of a showcase event for returning dancers followed by a brief information session and introductory lessons to the various styles of ballroom. CU Ballroom offers three styles of dance. The first track includes canonical styles such as the waltz, followed by the cha-cha and jive in the second, with the third consisting of salsa and bachata. Each track practices for two hours during the week and is open to anyone interested. After remaining inactive during the virtual year due to the club sports department's hiring freeze, members of the CU Ballroom executive board look forward to welcoming back returning members and introducing new and returning students to the art of ballroom dancing. "I've been talking to a lot of [first-years] and just friends in general, and everyone's feeling this sort of loneliness," competition chair Catalina Yang, CC '22, said. "I feel like ballroom is such a great place to have very meaningful connections with people. … Finding a dance partner and sort of continuing that partnership is really where you find sort of very deep, meaningful bonds and just meet unexpected people." CU Lion Dance This fall, Columbia University Lion Dance club might be found wandering around campus with lions, approaching random strangers, or performing on Low Steps outside of event performances and bi-weekly practices. The club will be continuing its no-audition policy this fall in an effort to expose as many people as possible to lion dance. Open to all beginners, CU Lion Dance also facilitates discussions on the history and culture that surrounds the dance form, according to president Ethan Wu, SEAS '23. Over the past year, the club tried to operate through the pandemic but was forced to work on technical aspects of dance without the lions. "We really tried to focus on some more fundamental things like stances, basic steps, footwork movements, things like that, that you could a bit more effectively convey over Zoom," Wu said. "So we really tried to get everyone's foundations ready for this year coming in so that everyone will be ready to hop back into the lions." Raas A competitive Gujarati folk dance group, Raas puts a modern twist on traditional Indian dancing. This year, Raas plans to return to in-person performances—depending on campus guidance and regulations—and competitions nationwide. In addition to performances, Raas hopes to hold numerous workshops and training sessions throughout the year for its dancers. According to Raas president Sabriya Khalfan, BC '22, Raas values its sense of community within the team, which accounts for a large portion of its mission. "Since we couldn't compete or travel [last year], we focused a lot on our community and just wanted to make sure that new members found a space on campus and felt comfortable meeting new people," Khalfan noted. Typically, Raas meets three times a week: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays from 8 to 10 p.m. Although audition dates are not yet determined, Raas is accepting new dancers into its close-knit family. Columbia University Ballet Ensemble Columbia University Ballet Ensemble is an entirely student-run company dedicated to performing full-length classical ballets. This semester, CUBE will be presenting "The Nutcracker," which will include dances such as variations, solos on pointe, and partnering sections, as well as core dances both on pointe and on flat, according to artistic director Camila Vicioso, CC '23. All dancers who audition will be cast in the production. While the location and specifics for the production have yet to be determined, CUBE executive board members are passionate about showcasing skills they've developed over the past year since producing video productions of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream." "Something I thought was a really great opportunity that we took was our use of video editing. We could be really creative, especially a lot of examples we can think of in 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,' being able to really edit her size and all of the cool things that happened in that show," public relations director Li Bing Appel, BC '24, said. "I think a lot of that creativity, having to think—and learn new skills, like video editing, something that a lot of us had to do—I think that's something that we can take into the new semester." Continuing aspects of more accessible virtual platforms, CUBE is offering three audition options this semester. On Sept. 12, CUBE held a Zoom audition. An in-person audition will take place on Sept. 18 at 2:30 p.m, or dancers can send in a video of themselves before Sept. 18 taking a ballet class at their level. Sabor Columbia's first and only dance group focusing on Latin dance, Sabor focuses on dance styles such as reggaeton, salsa, bachata, merengue, samba, and more, according to vice president Mia Flowers, BC '23. Community and outreach is also a significant part of Sabor's mission, to uplift those in and around the Columbia community. This fall, Sabor is recruiting new members and will hold auditions in the near future. In the meantime, the group will host its first workshop of the semester from 8 to 10 p.m. in the tents behind Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library. During the semester, Sabor plans to emphasize the mental well-being of its members by returning to in-person practices and performances. "When I was a [first-year] coming on the team and coming into this new environment … Sabor was pivotal," Flowers said. "Some people on the team, and I think just broadly in the Columbia community, were deeply affected by COVID-19. And when you're home, you don't necessarily have people that you can express that to who are non-partial. … Having that group that you know is there for you and won't judge you … is great." Columbia University Dance Team If you've watched a Columbia football or basketball game, you have probably seen the Columbia University Dance Team. The dance team dances at all home football games during halftime and occasionally between quarters, as well as at both women's and men's basketball games, and is always found cheering on the sidelines. The dance team will be holding auditions Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 8:30 p.m. in Dodge Fitness Center and is open to all Columbia students. The audition will consist of a warm-up, jazz techniques across the floor, and instruction for a previous piece or one that will be performed later this year. No experience is necessary, but the team does heavily stress the love of dance and performance, according to team member Nicolette Auld-Griffith, CC '23. "You don't have to be the most flexible. You don't have to have proper technique per se. But you do have to have enthusiasm … the joy of dancing" team member Rachel Forest, CC '23, said. Columbia University Generation Columbia University Generation, commonly referred to as CU Gen, focuses on hip-hop dance but rehearses and performs multiple styles.. While the group created dance videos and rehearsed remotely last year, the CU Gen executive board focused heavily on the mental health and wellness of its members according to artistic director Kevin Wang, CC '22. "It was a big priority of ours to make sure that our members were happy and healthy, and we always gauged at each rehearsal just to see what kind of mood they were in and if they were actually doing the activities we were doing because it's very tiring—exhausting—being on Zoom and rehearsing like that," Wang said. "So that was a big concern of ours last year.." Auditions take place this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 17 and 18, and are open to anyone interested. This semester, president Grace He, SEAS '23, hopes to dissolve any preconceived notions surrounding the group and its members. "I think in the past, we've definitely had issues with increasing our diversity. And people have gotten misconceptions about that. We just want to clarify that we allow anyone to audition regardless of their student background, their race, their diversity, their background. … They can audition regardless, again, of their dance experience as well," He said. Raw Elementz As the oldest hip-hop club at Columbia, Raw Elementz prides itself on complex, entirely student-created choreography that showcases dancers' talents. Over time, the group has transitioned from styles like breakdancing and B-boy/B-girl to old and new school and somewhat contemporary hip-hop, according to Raw Elementz vice president Madison O'Halloran, CC '22. Over the weekend, Raw Elementz held an open class on Sunday, which will be followed by auditions on Sept. 19. During the audition process, O'Halloran noted that many aspects of a student's dancing capabilities are considered, some of which include a dancer's potential to improve, personality, and more technical metrics. "We also look for abilities in terms of, can you pick up choreography? Or when you're doing the choreography, are you hitting it? Are you really going for it? Are you bringing a lot of energy because our performances are extremely energetic?" Raw Elementz will make appearances at popular events such as Night Market and Basketball Mania. The group also hopes to also hold its annual showcase, Rawcus, in the spring. "I think that all of us are just really excited to be performing again. I mean that's what we love to do. We're dancers, we're performers, we're for entertainers. So to be able to do that again and to be able to be with everyone is really exciting," O'Halloran said. "But we're trying to be really present about everything that we do, and also know that everything can change really quickly." Editor's note: Rachel Forest is a revenue manager at Spectator. She was not involved in the writing or editing of this article. Staff Writer Liz Radway contributed reporting. Deputy Editor Katie Levine can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @itskatielevine. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.