Moving and grooving: U.Va.’s dance groups offer creative spaces

Charlotte Oleson / V Mag at UVA

Amidst the hustle and bustle of college-level academics, hundreds of passionate students carve out hours each week for choreography sessions and late night rehearsals. Whether they’re looking to pirouette on pointe, perfect bhangra rhythms or pop and lock it, lifelong performers and newbies alike have found homes amongst the University’s diverse range of performing groups.

Virginia Dance Company (DCO), a co-ed group offering jazz, hip-hop and contemporary styles, rehearses each fall and spring for an exuberant end of semester shows showcasing the talent of more than 50 members. 

Many of these performers have danced for almost their whole lives. Longtime dancer Elizabeth Taylor, DCO president and fourth-year Education student, joined the group after her older sister, who was also in DCO, encouraged her to audition.

Taylor said she loves dance as a combination of “arts and athletics” that allows her to stay active while using the creative parts of her brain.

“I think it's really great for us as a form of expression that’s unique,” Taylor said. “You get to see who we are the most when we’re dancing.”

Each DCO performance features one larger number along with several smaller dances across various styles. At the beginning of the term, select students serve as choreographers, offering spots for other members to join their sequence.

Melinna Guo, DCO member and third-year College student, choreographed a hip-hop number to “Low” by Flo Rida with teammate and roommate, third-year College student Lucy Cai. The two planned much of the dance in their living room between official practices, then refined the routine with their dancers each week.

Guo said she appreciates feedback from her group since choreography is never a solo effort.

“During my rehearsals, I'll ask the people in the dance how they're feeling or like if they have any ideas or input,” Guo said. “Because it's not a traditional dance studio with teachers — you're making a dance with your peers. I like the people that want to be in my dance to feel integrated.”

Third-year College student Shruthi Kalathur and fourth-year College student Shreya Nagaa also had the chance to lead fellow students by serving as captains for co-ed Bollywood fusion group Virginia Ke Aashiq (VKA). 

As a longtime dancer, Shreya described the role as time consuming yet rewarding.

“We get to create the entire set for the year basically, which involves creating all the choreography with our choreography chairs and building the whole creative side of the set,” Shreya said. “It’s really fun, because we can take a story that already exists, and then twist it into something a little more unique, and then show that through dance.”

VKA performs at national level competitions at other colleges, with three main performances this spring in Ohio, Alabama and South Carolina. Their ten-minute set typically tells a story across multiple songs — this year’s dance, the “VKA Games” is a reimagining of the Netflix hit “Squid Games.”

Kalathru spoke to the creative freedom she enjoyed as a captain, adding that she works to provide a platform for everyone on the team to shine. Since the group’s performances involve eight different segments, there’s room for everyone to try out different choreography and songs.

“We try to get everyone on stage, because everyone joins a team wanting to compete,”  Kalathur said. “So we want to give everyone a chance to do that.”

As a testament to the group’s commitment to teaching, Shreya said many of VKA’s members had no dance experience before joining.

“It's super inclusive, and we just love to foster people's love for dance,” Shreya said.

Both teams offer chances for members to connect with each other and build relationships that extend off stage. VKA organizes families within the team and holds events like secret santa and friends-giving, while DCO participates in open dance workshops and social gatherings with other arts groups.

Despite joining DCO during the pandemic when many of the group’s events were virtual, Taylor reflected that her involvement in a dance group helped her connect with similar people early on in her college experience.

“I’m from out-of-state, so I really didn't know anybody coming to U.Va,” Taylor said. “So it was really helpful for me to just start to have those familiar faces around Grounds.”

With the stress and workload of a typical college student, it can sometimes be difficult to find time to spend on practice, choreography and event planning. Yet all three dancers agreed that dance offers a space to escape some of the academic grind. VKA members said the fun, light-hearted atmosphere during practice serves as a great mental break.

Guo added that even though she still finds performances “nerve-wracking”, she leaves everything behind once she starts dancing.

“When you're on stage, I feel like there's so much adrenaline, you're not really thinking about all of the other things in your life or feeling nervous anymore. When we're on stage, it's about having fun and performing and just enjoying the moment.”