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When Gabriela Padilla came to SU, she felt a culture shock compared to her home in Puerto Rico. She searched around campus for a place where she could feel connected to her background, finding Raíces Dance Troupe, a Latin-based dance group.

“I really feel like I found my people once I joined,” Padilla said. “It was a lot easier for me to be more social and get along because I felt like I was accepted.”

Raíces is part of a larger SU dance community that aims to bring together different kinds of people on campus, whether it be connecting them to their culture or allowing them to have weekly stress relief. The community consists of clubs that focus on a variety of styles, fostering a connection with whatever style of dance they choose. Instead of competing against each other, they cheer each other on at their performances, according to Miguel Ramirez, the co-chair of Raíces.

“A lot of people, we share some classes, so there’s never any tension. It’s just like, ‘You’re my friend,’” said Erin Adams, co-coordinator of Kalabash.

Isabella Haberthur, the artistic director of Orange Pulse Dance Troupe, danced throughout high school. None of the competing studios in her area communicated with each other back then, but she said college dancing does not include that same tense competition.

But similar to high school, bonding off the dance floor continues to be just as important. During the first week of school, Raíces had what they refer to as a family dinner, or “fam fam din dins.” Last year, they’d swipe people into the dining hall but quickly realized that they lost their meal swipes.

Since then, they have gone to each other’s houses to cook and most recently had a Taco Tuesday.

“Being in Raíces since my freshman year, you really get to see how it is a family — we are there for each other, how we meet beyond the meeting hours, we hang out with each other,” Padilla said. “Like, everything we do, we’re our own little friend group, our own little family.”

For Denaysha Macklin, senior and co-chair of Outlaws, SU’s only hip-hop dance group, dance is how she made her first friends at SU. Four years later, Macklin sustains relationships with many of the people she’d met her freshman year.

“We host bondings throughout the semester, and it’s kind of just a way, aside from just doing shows, for us to just get to know each other,” Macklin said. “When we’re dancing with each other, you want to know who you’re dancing with. And just create that community. So when we show it on stage, it’s not fake. It’s something real.”

Raices, SU’s Latin-based dance group focuses on bringing together a diverse group of people. From hosting taco night to supporting their fellow members, the club highlights the well-being of their dancers.
Cassandra Roshu | Photo Editor

While some dance groups may be linked to a specific culture, many on campus are encouraging everyone to join their troupe. Black Reign, the step dance troupe on SU’s campus is no different.

Autumn Campbell, president of Black Reign, the only non-Greek affiliated step team on SU’s campus, defines the style as a hip-hop form that came from sororities and fraternities making sounds with their hands and feet.

“Dance wakes up anybody who is very interested and wants to learn and wants to grow as a learner,” Campbell said. “Putting our culture on a dance team is good as well, but we also want others to learn the culture and even have a chance to experience something.”

Most dance troupes have auditions scheduled for the next few weeks. Certain groups like Kalabash and Raíces leave their auditions open to anyone who wants to join, meaning that someone does not have to be Caribbean or Latin to audition.

Orange Pulse, however, does not have auditions. Many members of the club will come from different dance training backgrounds: some could have danced their whole lives and others not at all, according to Haberthur.

The variety of training creates diversity within Orange Pulse, Haberthur said. As a choreographer, she can use this to blend everyone’s perspectives together.

“When I don’t know what to do, I’m like, ‘Oh, does anybody have an idea?’ and then they’ll say ‘Oh, this works,’” Haberthur said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, I didn’t even think of that.’ So we work with each other to create the dance.”

Similarly to Orange Pulse, DanceWorks is one of the largest dance groups on campus and they offer flexible scheduling, allowing for more students to join and get involved.

Sophomore Chloe Fatuova has been involved with the team since her freshman year and has always been interested in choreography. DanceWorks allows students the opportunity to audition to choreograph once they’re sophomores, giving younger students to hone their skills.

Across the SU dance community, students find a place to hone their craft and get better. Like Ramirez, who formerly danced hip-hop in his room is now learning more about his own Latin heritage through his dancing in Raíces. A member of Kalabash, Genia Belfon, says that the community is brought together by their love for what they do.

“Even though we dance different genres – like Outlaws, Creation, Raíces – there’s a lot of different cultures involved,” Belfon said. “One thing we share is our passion for it.”

Published on September 5, 2023 at 10:50 pm

Contact Rosina: rlboehm@syr.edu