Monday, October 28, 1996
DANCE:
International Folk Dance Club celebrates diversityBy Vanessa
VanderZanden
Daily Bruin Contributor
Last year, he taught 500 students how to cha cha cha. This year,
he hopes to return to Pauley Pavilion for a night of unabashed
dance lesson hysteria. He’s James Zimmer, the ambitious president
of UCLA’s International Folk Dance Club, and he’s ready to boogie
down.
"Usually we do line dances from 7:30 to 8:00, then we give
students a few minutes to socialize. Then we dance circle dances
from around 8:00 to 9:30," Zimmer explains. "9:30 to 11:00 we
devote to learning partner dances."
Meeting Tuesday nights in Rieber Hall’s Fireside Lounge and
Thursdays in Hedrick Hall, Zimmer teaches everything from Greek,
Turkish, Kurdish, Yemenite and Israeli forms to the well-known
Meringue, Samba, Cha Cha, and Tango dances of Latin America. On
Wednesdays, the club travels into the Valley for a five-hour folk
dance fest, starting at 8:00, which often boasts 300 participants.
Though Zimmer re-established the club just last fall, this sort of
Bruin sock-hopping is nothing new to the Los Angeles area.
"Many people that have graduated from UCLA in the past have come
up to me and said that they were members of this club back in the
’50s, ’60s and ’70s," Zimmer continues. "It was a really memorable
part of their UCLA experience."
One such alum actually claims to have been inspired by her folk
dance teacher back in the late 1930s. The instructor, now 85, will
make a fine subject for Zimmer’s ethnomusicology research project.
A fourth-year transfer student from Santa Monica City College,
Zimmer switched his field of study from film and television
composition to musicology. He reached this decision after his
experiences leading the folk dance club last year and his recent
three month involvement overseas this summer.
"I taught dancing in Paris and then studied Grecian dancing in
Northern Greece," he explains. "One of the exciting moments was
that I actually taught the tango on the Acropolis behind the
Parthenon."
In addition, he traveled to Israel where he continued to learn
and instruct. Here, he witnessed over 1,000 people dance in unison
on the floor of an enormous gym, and took part in massive beach
dances. Though Americans haven’t embraced the cultural dance
euphoria of these Middle Eastern nations, the UCLA Folk Dance Club
strives to produce similar feelings of community.
"You can feel the cultural background of the dance," explains
member Jenny Yen. "You can just imagine a lot of people dancing on
the Kurdish beach. In Hong Kong [Yen’s native land] I just went to
a dance studio instead of any cultural festival or party like that.
When you dance this kind of dance, you just dance with
everybody."
Such racial, religious, and occupational diversity represent the
essence of Zimmer’s club. For years, a wide variety of students
have socialized on the International Folk Dance Club’s hard wood
floor in a celebration of mixed backgrounds and customs.
Occasionally, certain evenings are devoted to a particular
geographical region, where students share the history of their
land, eat regional delicacies and wear traditional attire.
"I enjoy bringing students together," Zimmer says. "One of the
nice experiences last year is that I got to see a couple fall in
love in this class. My parents actually met at a dance on the TV
show, ‘Shebang,’ so I’m bringing that full circle."
And, just as his father was president of a UCLA economics club,
Bruin-born Zimmer (born in the UCLA hospital) will continue with
his role as folk dance leader beyond his graduation this year. He
intends to teach dance in conferences around the world, while
focusing on creating a tight, footloose community here at UCLA.
Zimmer’s mother even helps to produce this environment by supplying
cookies and drinks, laughing with pride at her son’s
accomplishments.
"We’re creating a community of people that share very diverse
backgrounds, but also this joy for dancing and music," Zimmer says.
"The creativity and love of learning something new helps produce
the sense that we’re a UCLA family."
In order to accumulate more club members, Zimmer will march with
his club through the streets of Westwood in UCLA’s Homecoming
parade. Then, at the parade’s culmination in Westwood Plaza, he
will attempt to instruct the mass of parade-goers in a new
Brazilian line dance.
"It’s just like Macarena," he says. "It’s spreading really
quickly throughout the world. Most people in L.A. don’t know it
yet. It takes just a couple of minutes to learn."
Beyond this, Zimmer has scheduled many exciting field trips for
his club’s enjoyment. On Nov. 24, they will showcase their skills
at an annual holiday talent show in the Northwest Auditorium. Also,
the night before Thanksgiving, they will pull an all-nighter at the
largest folk dance party in the country at a community center in
the Valley. They also won’t miss the flamenco show at the Wadsworth
early next month, or Viennese waltz night later in January. The
International Folk Dance Club will even attend historical Victorian
balls and dances of King George IV’s era.
"People wear the clothes of the period and during the day of the
party there’s a dance teacher that teaches the dances of the era,"
Zimmer explains. "Sometimes people rent, sometimes they make their
own clothes."
Though, for his own class, Zimmer would recommend jeans and a
T-shirt. This is an attire most students can afford. Even the
club’s $5 a week membership doesn’t hit the pocket too hard, and
first time members are always welcome to try the club for free.
"I’ve always wanted to learn the tango," says first-time dance
explorer Jaime Lawson. "I’ve played around at it, but felt it was
time I learn the real way to do it."
Rina Cruz expresses similar reasons for trying out the
intriguing club. "You know how they say Spanish music is all
sensual and the tango is the most sensuous you can get? I’ve danced
my own kind, which is Cumbia. But Cumbia is way different from the
tango."
As diverse as their ethnicities, dance backgrounds and their
motivation to participate in the club, all members share a common
desire. They love to dance  passionately and often. Zimmer
understands this need and recognizes his importance in providing
such an outlet for UCLA students.
"Over the summer, I felt like a celebrity for the first time in
my life," he says with a sparkle in his eye. In his travels to
Paris or the Middle East, he encountered some of the 500 students
he instructed taught last year. "They’d say, ‘You taught me the
tango.’ And I’d say, ‘Yes, I did.’"
GENEVIEVE LIANG
Members of the International Folk Dance Club learn the "Tagidi,"
a Kurdish folk dance.