There’s a dancer hiding in all of us just kicking to get
out.
You saché in your bathrobe in front of your mirror when you
think no one’s watching. People stare at you as you move to
music they don’t hear. You’re studying to be a
neurologist to make Mom and Dad proud, but no one understands your
primal, insatiable urge to dance ““ what a feeling.
What many would-be Bruin dancers don’t realize is there
are plenty of opportunities at this educational institution to …
well, shake your groove thang. The world arts and cultures
department offers a spectrum of dance classes which students can
take and get some extra units in the process. For people who are
intimidated by dancing for a letter grade, the John Wooden Center
offers a wide range of extracurricular dance classes as well.
Offering nine-week classes ranging from no fee to $28, Elisa
Terry, manager of the fitness in training program for UCLA
Recreation, said the Wooden Center provides the most affordable
instruction in Los Angeles.
“Students can definitely get the most bang for their buck
at Wooden, but that doesn’t mean it’s suffering in
quality,” she said.
According to Terry, UCLA Recreation optimally aims to hire UCLA
students with professional training in teaching dance, but often
hires well-trained instructors from the area.
“Wooden not only offers a great opportunity to learn
dance, but also to teach. We’re always looking for UCLA
students who can gain more experience by teaching dance
here,” Terry said.
At Wooden, people can learn fundamental dance forms such as
ballet, modern dance and jazz, or get in touch with other cultures
through world dances such as belly dance, salsa, African dance,
Latin dance or tango. Those looking for something a little more
refined than the chicken dance can learn the fox-trot, waltz, rumba
and cha-cha by taking ballroom dance. For people feeling a little
retro, swinging on to L.A.’s dance scene is made easier with
classes in East Coast and universal swing dance.
The best part is, students don’t have to leave campus to
get a wide variety of dance experience.
“Wooden is an environment that’s convenient as well
as familiar to students,” Terry said. “So they’re
taking classes with people like themselves, which makes it a lot
less intimidating.”
Approximately 1,000 students and RecCard holders each quarter
pass through the Wooden dance program spanning all levels of skill,
from the rhythmically challenged to seasoned artists who have had
years of dance experience.
Third-year history student Erik Latshaw said he had no prior
dancing experience whatsoever. “I took the class because I
wanted to get a concept of dancing in general, but I also thought
it’d be really funny,” he said.
Although it may have started out as a joke, Latshaw considers
the class a valuable experience.
“I picked up stuff which I will carry with me. Now I
almost have the confidence to dance (in social
environments),” Latshaw said.
While getting to be a better dancer might be the overall aim of
taking classes, giving your health a kick-start is an added
bonus.
“Movement is a perfect way to de-stress yourself and
integrate your mind, body and spirit,” Terry said.
“Dance also has social aspects ““ you’re working
out but you’re also having fun. We try to provide students
with an enjoyable way to move and be healthy.”
Many people, like world arts and cultures graduate student and
instructor Anjali Tata, believe dance can be a cathartic way for
people to jazz up their often-monotonous lives.
“(Dancing) is a way for people to reconnect with their
bodies after sitting in highly cerebral environments all day
long…it’s poetry expressed through movement,” Tata
said.
Students who take beginning WAC classes can purge their dancing
needs and receive two units for the classes, which can be taken
pass/no pass or for letter grading.
This fall, WAC is offering for beginners Afro-Cuban dance, Raqs
Sharqi (belly dance), folklorico, tap, Indonesian dance, flamenco,
ballet and modern/postmodern dance.
Even though on the registrar it states the classes are
restricted to WAC students, according to Tata, one does not need to
be a WAC student to enroll in many of the dance classes.
“All students are encouraged to attend class during the
first week, after which the instructor assigns PTE numbers. The
only time priority is given to WAC majors is if the class is
impacted or full,” she said.
For those wannabe J.Los or aspiring Baryshnikovs, or those who
just want to turn their inebriated flailing at clubs into something
more closely resembling dance, UCLA has opportunities to rock that
body at very little to no cost.
“I never had any opportunities to learn dance before
UCLA,” Latshaw said. “There’s nothing to lose,
particularly if it’s free. So go for it.”