Walk into the Studley Gym during certain afternoons and evenings and you can hear music blasting from the basement. Follow the beat downstairs and you’ll find energetic dancers working hard and smiling harder to get ready for their end-of-the-year performance. Welcome to DalDance, one of the largest student societies at Dal.
Started in 1996 by a few students wanting to continue their love for dance at university, Daldance currently has 300 members and offers an astonishing number of classes for anyone wanting to try some moves.
“If you have a Dalplex membership then you’re eligible to become a DalDance member,” says psychology student Chantal Dubé, the current president of Daldance. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a first year or doing your PhD—if you’re a member of Dalplex, you’re welcome here.” This applies to Kings students and staff members as well, creating a diverse environment within the society.
“DalDance is it’s own small community within Dalhousie,” says Chantal. “It’s full of enthusiastic people who just love to dance. It’s nice to have a place to de-stress from school and be with people who share similar interests as you.”
After almost 20 years as a society, DalDance has certainly made an impact on campus. “I know quite a few people for whom the society was a deciding factor for them to come to Dal,” says Chantal. “We have one of the largest programs around.”
Classes are separated into three levels: beginning, intermediate, and advanced, with a wide variety of dance styles. Membership fees are per semester and depend on what level the classes are.
“We had some difficulty getting space this year so we weren’t able to offer every class we wanted to,” says Chantal. “Even so, we still were able to offer every level of jazz, hip-hop, modern, contemporary, ballet, and tap.” The society also has an open level to offer other styles such as belly dance and musical theatre.
DalDance prides itself in providing a warm and welcoming environment for dancers at every level. For Roxanne Wood, the current marketing and website coordinator, who is in the last year of her biology degree, it provided her with an opportunity to become more engaged on campus.
“I didn’t join DalDance until my second year, but I think it would have helped my transition,” she says. “It’s an easy way to get involved. The classes are a great place to meet new people.”
First-year marine biology student Kenadee Maxwell is experiencing firsthand the impact the society has had with her transition from home. “Through DalDance I've made a lot of really great friends, and I was able to find somewhere I felt comfortable continuing my dancing,” she says. “Being so far from home, it's nice to have a feeling of familiarity that dance will always offer. Daldance has also helped me get involved in the Dal community, which I think is really important to do.”
While the social aspect of the society can be appealing to some, for others like second-year microbiology and immunology student Olivia Paxton-Beesley, DalDance has helped her keep dancing a part of her life—and also inspired her to expand her interests.
“I knew I had to continue dancing when I started university,” she says. “I’ve been training in ballet and modern my whole life and never felt very comfortable straying from the two. DalDance changed my mind, and encouraged me to try different kinds of dance. So this year I’m doing jazz, ballet, modern, and contemporary, and I’m improving every class.”
Members can take classes at DalDance for both the fall and winter terms, with different focuses in each term. Fall classes are more technique based and focus on across-the-floor exercises and learning short combinations of choreography. “During the second semester we work up to learning full-length pieces that are prepared for the show,” says Roxanne. “It’s great to show people how much effort we’ve put in all year doing what we love.”
Anyone interested in becoming a member can get in touch with DalDance on Facebook or through its website.