Calling all dancers! Have you ever wanted to continue to dance and perform at CNU, but it just doesn’t fit into your schedule of classes? Have you ever wanted to keep up with your different styles but don’t want to deal with the stress that often comes with dance? Well, this may be the perfect organization for you. 

Called the CNU Dance Company, this club aims to take dance in a new direction on campus. I recently spoke with the two coordinators: Maria Jones who is a senior musical theater major with a dance minor and Emma Kohl who is a junior majoring in neuroscience with a dance and leadership minor. These two amazing women were able to give me more insight on the purpose of the organization and all of the exciting opportunities they have coming soon.

“We are a theater initiative under the theater department that hopes to bring more dance opportunities to CNU that haven’t been here before,” Kohl explained. “It’s the idea of bringing masterclasses by guest artists but also giving peers in the dance company the opportunity to teach” if that is something they want to pursue when they graduate. “We want low commitment outside of class but high commitment while you are there.” However, there is no pressure in having to be a perfect dancer or coming every single week without fail. As long as you are enjoying yourself and making progress, that’s all that matters. Classes will be held for an hour and a half every week, but Kohl and Jones’s plan is to change the day of the week every so often, so it becomes more available for people with various schedules.

They plan on having a variety of dance styles be taught such as hip hop, Broadway jazz and contemporary and much more. Guest artists and students are already slated to come teach and share their talent with all of CNU. In fact, the first class they had was a masterclass in heels; essentially learning how to dance in heels which can be an entirely different experience than dancing in any other shoe. The heels class also incorporated hip hop and jazz as well, so all types of dances really do go together which is why it’s so important to be exposed to different types. 

When it comes to costs, Jones said, “peer-led is completely free since it’s led by our peers but some of our masterclasses will have a fee to them solely because some of the instructors are traveling to the area. We’re also paying for the experience that they’re bringing to us. For example, our Broadway jazz teacher has more than ten years of New York experience. However, we are hoping that nothing will be more than $20.” Members will be notified beforehand of any costs they might incur. 

Ultimately, Jones states that the CNU Dance Company should be a no pressure situation. “Our goal is to mainly have everyone dance for fun because I feel like everyone who dances in school are dancing for grading purposes, so you can eventually lose your love for it. Sometimes it’s nice to just dance without knowing someone’s watching me. Without having to worry about being critiqued.” Truer words couldn’t be spoken and I for one am very excited to see how the CNU Dance Company continues to develop and become a safe place for dancers of all levels. Be sure to follow them on Instagram @cnu.dance.company for all class information and updates.