By The Keystone Newspaper By Kaitlyn Resline
On the second floor of the recreational center at KU, the six executive board members of Golden Bear Dance Company sat around a brown couch, waiting for a studio to open. Mr. Brightside by the Killers played in the background, accompanied by two people engaged in a furious ping-pong battle. Vice President Haley Afif had one arm stretched across the top of the couch while President Caitlin Carone sat cross-legged on the floor, twirling her hair, looking at the computer in her lap. The other girls were spread around the couch, a collection of crewnecks, sweatpants, and slippers.
The executive board, or E-Board, is an elected group of six GBDC members whose roles ensure that the club runs smoothly. They make sure choreographers are prepared for the semester showcase and organize costumes, posters, and auditions. All the E-Board members choreograph at least one dance and work together to choreograph a full ensemble dance and an E-Board dance.
At this meeting, they were discussing the colors of costumes for the ensemble dance. However, when they moved on to decide the E-Board song, their eyes kept drifting to the studio door. They were waiting to shed their shoes and participate in the activity that brought them all together: dance. Finally, the studio opened, and they bustled in, ready to get to work.
“We have pretty much an entirely new E-Board,” Carone said. “But they handle it like champs.”
In previous years, the E-Board has been more structured and intense in the way it was run. This year, the E-Board focused on creating a more constructive environment for all members.
“[GBDC] didn’t feel very friendly and open to me,” Afif said. “It felt kind of like people had their own cliques, their own groups, and if you weren’t in that, you were kind of excluded from everything.”
To change this club mentality, the E-Board has focused on their responsibility to the club members and putting their members first. Without the members, Afif noted, there would not be a club.
GBDC member and one of the club’s other choreographers, Rebecca McNulty said she appreciates the E-Board’s help and guidance this semester. They have been helpful in and outside of class with general questions, figuring out choreography formations, and providing general encouragement.
“They set the standard,” McNulty said. “They keep the club going as a whole.”
She also talked about the positive atmosphere the E-Board creates in their own dance classes. They model the expectations for the class structure and instruction to show all the members the balance between productivity and having fun.
When working to create a positive environment, secretary Samantha Kochanek looks to her dance teacher Coral Nolan for inspiration. Nolan danced professionally in the New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater, but in her own dance studio, Coral’s Academy of Dance, she was nurturing and caring.
“She just made dance feel like such a warm and welcoming place, and [Coral’s Academy of Dance] really felt like my second home while I was there,” Kochanek said. “I want people who are considering joining GBDC to be able to find a home as well.”
Besides creating a welcoming environment for members, the E-Board also redefined their teamwork this year. They have delegated different club tasks to prevent one person from running the entire club and becoming very stressed. For instance, in the past, the E-Board has split up the company number and choreographed it separately. However, this year they decided to do it together to make the experience more collaborative. Carone described this rehearsal as one of her favorites this semester.
“Everyone on the E-Board came with their own ideas, and everyone was so open to using those ideas,” she said. “Now our company’s number is just a little bit of each of us like there’s moves that you know came from each of us.”
The passion for dance drives the E-Board members to create an enjoyable environment for all members to join. Ultimately, dance is a form of expression that anyone can utilize, regardless of experience or level. The members of GBDC use dance as a respite from their daily lives.
“College is really stressful,” treasurer Riley Goshow said. “When I go to dance, I don’t have to think about the 50 billion assignments that I have to do.”
Most importantly, GBDC brings together people with common interests and helps them build their confidence. Before choreographing, many of the E-Board members mentioned being anxious to teach others. Through dance, they have learned how to make the members comfortable and have the dance reflect them all.
“I feel like through dance, I can be my real self without having to mask anything,” conflict chair Beneily Ramirez remarked.
Carone smiled while talking about GBDC’s role in connecting members through dance. She has seen members go to class together or eat in the dining hall. With over 68 members, the chances of encountering each other while walking across campus are pretty likely.
“GBDC is like a big family, everybody gets along so well,” public relations chair Kylie Berkheimer said. “And we all just have so much fun together all the time. And I feel like it’s a good, safe environment.”
After figuring out club logistics, the E-Board hurried into the studio. The ensemble song is an upbeat party, a roaring 20s jazz with the high energy of a 2000s rave. The E-Board stood around the studio, bouncing with the beat of the music, occasionally testing out a dance move. Their voices overlapped with different ideas, and they jumped up and down with each suggestion.
“I’ve never choreographed to music like this,” Kochanek said.
“It’s your time to shine,” Afif said.
Kochanek suggested dropping with each beat of the music while Ramirez jokingly did a high kick after. Everyone’s eyes lit up and they started putting the moves together. Their faces transformed with each girl concentrating. The music started up, and they tested the dance, moving with one mind. When they made it through a few seconds, they burst into a chorus of laughter and claps, excitement almost bubbling. Then, they put on the focus again, ready for the next move.