NECC’s dance club is shaking things up during their rehearsal for the spring recital in the Sport and Fitness Center. Every Monday, a handful of students from all different majors and skill levels gather to learn funky new dance moves, or sometimes keep it classical with the integration of classical ballet influences.
Michelle Dean, a dance teacher at NECC, leads the club, putting the members through the warm up, and rehearsing over and over again in preparation for the big show. A passersby may hear “…and 5, 6, 7 8!” walking by as the dancers move in staggered synchronization across the studio.
The Dance Club is really welcoming to beginners, especially those who want to take on the challenge of learning new styles of dance. Grant Bellino, philosophy major, got started with the dance club simply because he has always wanted to dance. On a spur-of-the-moment decision, he signed up for the club. “It’s been extremely difficult because I’ve never been extremely coordinated. I’ve played several sports but dance is just so much… all the choreography. I love it!” said Bellino, “when it all comes together and you’re feeling it, at first it’s kind of fragmented when you’re learning new moves and everything but once it comes together and you’re doing It automatically it’s an awesome feeling.”
One of the veteran dancers, Nina Cabral, dance major, commands stage presence even when behind the other dances. Lithely moving across the floor, she makes the spectators want to follow her movements. Because Dance club is open for all skill levels, Cabral gets just as much out of it as a beginner. She began dancing at age 13, when her mother didn’t know what to do with all of her frenetic energy, dancing all over the house, so she enrolled her in a summer ballet intensive, and Cabral was in love. “I wanted to do all the dancing that is physically possible here [at NECC] because I’m not dancing enough. My favorite part about the dance club is that you get a warm up before you start dancing, but also I really just enjoy Michelle’s teaching style. She really makes sure it’s good for all levels. I’m a higher level than, like, everyone else in the class, but I really like that Michelle alters it for everyone. I really appreciate that, because it’s a hard thing to do. It’s hard to have a class for all levels,” said Cabral.