The arranged art of body motion known as dance, for some intangible reason, is immensely popular at Princeton. On campus, there are probably more than a dozen dance groups, with unique styles ranging from—get ready—traditional Mexican folk dance to breakdancing, to martial arts choreography to contemporary lyrical, to ballet to tap, to bhangra to technical hip hop, and so on. Needless to say, we have an impressively vibrant dance scene for such a small student body, and this is something I have always found to be incredible.
I joined a hip hop dance group, BAC (acronym for the Black Arts Company), the first semester of my freshmen year, and in the three years since then the group has not only helped me to refine a skill set but also to develop an identity and discover a family on Princeton’s campus (a "Purple Family," because of our ubiquitous color choice). I rank BAC among the top big four dance groups on campus, alongside Disiac, Expressions and BodyHype. These are (currently) the largest, most comprehensive and most rigorous of student organized dance groups who host performances and auditions every semester.
Though I chose BAC for my own stylistic preference, and because of their SWAG, perhaps one of the other big three or any of the many smaller, more niche groups could be better for a different student (though I still recommend BAC, haha). There is also the more competitive Chaos Theory crew, composed of elite dancers from various campus groups, which competed in the huge "World of Dance: New York" competition last year, and is rumored to have been offered a spot on "America’s Best Dance Crew." Regardless of style or skill, however, the great thing about dance at Princeton is that there will be some dance outlet for you if you decide to seek it.
As I’m studying abroad, I continue to keep up dance here in Seoul through another student group. At the same time, I want to shout out accolades and respect for all the dancers back in the Orange Bubble. BAC’s House Party themed show, the first that I missed, was April 10, and the spring shows of other groups followed shortly thereafter. BAC and all the other dancers work tirelessly to independently create, manage and promote their shows, and it all comes together when they perform it for their friends, families and the Princeton community.
With Princeton students, everyone has at least one dancer friend. While non-dancers at first may feel compelled or obliged to see a dance performance featuring their friend, the obligation is soon replaced by enthusiasm once they realize that the dancers, their shows and the vibes they bring to our campus are an irreplaceable component of Princeton’s culture. Our school is not only a great place to study, but it is also an amazing place to pick up, progress or perfect your dancing passion.
Note:
Some of you may recognize the name of this blog entry from this hilarious song, performed by Flynt Flossy of the Turquoise Jeep crew. They also performed at Princeton’s biannual Lawn Parties event two years ago, seen here with the DJ wearing customized BAC sunglasses that we handed up to him.
