March in Vancouver is a month of expectation — everyone seems to be waiting for something. Students coming out of midterms gear up for the long trek toward finals, optimistic couples lay on the hard-packed grass waiting for the thaw. But those things aren’t here yet, and waiting always makes time crawl. So instead of wasting away in pre-spring limbo, why not do some stretches, find a bamboo pole, and make the limbo work for you?
Dance Horizons is the largest of UBC’s many dance clubs, with a team of over 40 executives and a membership of more than 250 dancers of skill levels ranging from beginners to competitive veterans. It offers ten classes in a variety of dance genres; maybe you want to dance to steady beats and crisp snares in a hip-hop class, or live out your multi-chapter La La Land fanfic in a jazz dance lesson. If you’re into moving around while listening to music, there’s likely something here for you.
“We range from beginner, intermediate, advanced and open levels of all different kinds of styles,” said Dance Horizons President Alina Kuk. “And all of our teachers are actually professional dancers and choreographers [from] around Vancouver, so you’re learning from the best of the best.”
I had the opportunity to do just that when I dropped in on a beginner hip-hop class in the performance theatre. It was organized by Grace Chen, Dance Horizons’ VP of public relations, who helped connect me with the club.
I arrived a bit early, accidentally walking in on a martial arts class just winding down. I wondered why everyone in this hip-hop dance class had wrapped their hands in tape and taken off their shoes. But I’m a pretty sharp guy; when they started punching each other, I figured it out real quick.
When the class got started for real, the execs wheeled some mirrors up against the far wall and we lined up behind the instructor as she fiddled with the speaker. Before long she was leading us in some improvised moves as a quick warmup before the true heart of the lesson: a full dance routine that the class had been working on since the beginning of term.
“All of our classes are commitment-based,” Kuk said. “What that means is that you’re there every week… so you get a chance to learn choreo, learn technique, all of that kind of stuff, and then [you] get to perform it in front of hundreds of people, all your friends [and] supporters, to showcase your hard work throughout the term.”
Even beginner classes, with the exception of one for absolute newbies, build toward Dance Horizons’ bi-yearly shows, the next of which is happening on April 15 in the Norman Rothstein Theatre in Kerrisdale.
What this meant for me as I tried to look natural and keep up at the back of the performance theatre is that I had some catching up to do. Despite my lack of experience with the routine, though, (and, let’s face it, dance as a concept), the instructor moved at a pace that even I could keep up with. They explained the moves slowly and clearly, giving us multiple runs at each one before incorporating them into the routine. When the class ended and we all filed out of the theatre, I had a pretty good idea of the dance’s progression and rhythm.
But maybe you’re more interested in watching others dance to your tune. If so, Dance Horizons lets you indulge your darkest puppet master fantasies in their choreography sessions. You can learn the fundamentals of the art, and even assemble a group to guest perform your routines at the club’s shows.
The past few years have been hard on almost every AMS club, and Dance Horizons was no different. It was forced to move all their teams online and suspend classes.
“Our year end show [in April] is the first one in three years that’s in person,” said Kuk. “[We had to] come up with new, different ways to keep Dance Horizons alive. I think it’s been really successful.”
Dance can be intimidating. I, for one, had no clue what to expect when I walked into that class, and the unknown is scary. But whether you’re a seasoned waltzer or a two-left-foot novice like me, Dance Horizons offers you a place to take an old cliche’s advice and dance your troubles away. If nothing else, it’s a way to keep warm while we wait for summer.
Class schedules can be found here.