Students who enjoy dancing find themselves immersed in a myriad of dance forms at the University — from K-pop to swing dancing and everything in between. Yet, students who have not had the opportunity to explore dance before college may struggle to find a place to start. One student-run dance organization hopes to change this — The Mighty.
Founded in 2012, The Mighty is a student-run and mainly student-taught dance organization that provides beginner-friendly dance workshops for students interested in experimenting with the art form. The club also brings in professional choreographers to teach workshops during an annual April event called The Summit. As The Mighty's platform expands on Grounds, the ultimate goal of the organization is to create a platform where novice dancers can interact with experienced dancers.
Kenny Nguyen, president of The Mighty and third-year College student, explains how he took his minimal dance experience and used it as a source of encouragement at one of the first workshops he attended.
“Rather than the gap [of knowledge] intimidating me, it pushed me to want to grow and see dance as something that is easily pursuable beyond graduation,” Nguyen said.
The Mighty’s workshops take place at various accessible locations on Grounds and are termed “open-style,” wherein registration is not mandated, and students are free to join as per their schedule. Divided into three categories, classes are catered to students’ prior experience levels, ranging from beginner, intermediate and advanced.
Classes typically consist of learning workshops that are geared towards learning a foundational style, which can help learners understand the basic skills of the dance, such as hip-hop or voguing. These workshops are divided into two sections taught by different choreographers, each encompassing 1 hour and 15 minutes. Students have the option to attend either one, and the classes of a higher difficulty level tend to be at the end.
Nguyen explains that the organization has recently sought to offer more beginner classes taught by students themselves in hopes of decreasing the pressure of attending workshops.
“It definitely makes it a lot easier to come into a workshop knowing who's teaching and knowing who else is going to be there,” Nguyen said.
This emphasis on student choreography has helped The Mighty expand and diversify its group of instructors. Aside from students, choreographers often extend beyond the University due to the organization's connections to the larger DMV area including Richmond and Northern Virginia. Kristina Kang, treasurer of The Mighty and third-year College student, expressed how the presence of The Mighty in the dance community — supported by its 13 years of activity and large social media presence — helps in finding choreographers willing to teach classes.
“Since [The] Mighty has been around for a good amount of time, there's already a pretty good community out there who already knows what [The] Mighty does,” Kang said. “Our primary way of recruiting choreographers is [by] sending out an interest form to our Instagram and then also sending it to different DMV dance crews.”
For The Summit, the organization flies in professional choreographers from across the United States to offer workshops, such as Ty Newby and Bo Park from Los Angeles and New York, respectively. For approximately $40, attendees can participate in a day of four workshops and learn from a diverse set of choreographers.
Choreographers at The Summit have flexibility in structuring their own lessons by formatting them to their personal artistic style, creating a “classroom environment.” Nguyen explains how this format allows the choreographers’ teaching styles to more effectively direct students and makes it easier for dancers to absorb information.
“A lot of times, teachers often talk about how they're able to conceptualize the choreography and [the] intention behind certain moves which really helps with execution,” Nguyen said.
Looking ahead, Nguyen expressed his hopes to revive a dance showcase event previously hosted by The Mighty. The organization worked in collaboration with other dance crews at the University and across the DMV area to give dancers the opportunity to perform in front of large audiences.
The event has since been discontinued due to the logistical obstacles regarding the lack of available performance venues on Grounds. However, with the proposal of the new performing arts center near the Emmet-Ivy corridor, this objective may be realized sooner than expected.
“I hope that through the following years, we're able to establish an even bigger community and really be able to bring back the showcases,” Nguyen said. “I think it's such a unique aspect of dance in terms of being able to present something that is entirely your own to a big crowd.”
From intimate workshops hosted on Grounds, to larger showcases expanding outside the University community, The Mighty bridges the gaps in helping aspiring dancers realize their potential.
The Mighty holds workshops Fridays at 6 p.m., and the details regarding each workshop can be found on their Instagram.
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