Hello guys, gals, and non-binary pals! It has been a hot minute since I updated this blog, but I am incredibly excited to write here again! Today, I am going to be talking about my experience with the arts at Amherst College. Everyone’s experience at Amherst is unique, so I’ll only be sharing about the things that I have done while here. For me, having a strong artistic community was something that was so important to me when choosing a college. I have done ballet, contemporary, and jazz for 7 years, and I wanted to make sure that there were avenues for me to continue doing so while in college. Since middle school, I’ve also been practicing visual arts, mainly oil pastels and colored pencils. All of my friends growing up also did art in some way, shape, or form, so I also wanted to ensure that there was a strong community filled with people who really cared about art.
At Amherst, there is the department of Theater and Dance, and I’ve really loved being able to take classes with them. I’ve taken an introduction-level acting class with Jude Sandy, which I wrote about in a previous blog post, My Favorite Classes. Professor Sandy made the class feel like a welcoming environment for people of all experience levels, and over the course of the class, I became much more comfortable and confident while acting. I also began to feel more confident in who I am as a person, so overall, I highly recommend taking that class, even if you have no intention of exploring theater in any other way.
I’ve also taken an intermediate-level contemporary dance class with the Theater and Dance department, which I also loved doing. Being able to reconnect with dance in an environment that was supportive and understanding was such a great experience. I felt like my technique improved throughout the semester, and the instructor, Sarah Konner, was a truly fantastic teacher.
One of my favorite things about arts at Amherst, besides being able to take classes in subjects I love, is that there are so many different clubs that are focused on art here. For theater, there are two clubs specializing in student lead productions, Amherst College Green Room (you can check out their Instagram page here) and Ghost Light. For dance, there are two main student groups: Intersections Dance Company, which focuses on contemporary, modern, ballet, and jazz dance techniques, and Dance and Step at Amherst College (DASAC), which focuses on styles of dance rooted in Black American culture and the larger Black Diaspora. Both of these groups are by audition only, but they hold dance classes that are open to anyone. They also both have performances at the end of every semester, which are great opportunities to showcase student choreography. I always do my best to attend their performances whenever I can! Seeing the truly breathtaking work that students are able to create always inspires me to work on my own art.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg! There are so many more intricacies and things that I haven’t even touched on, such as Marsh Arts House, which may become a future blog post, and the visual art department at Amherst, not to mention all of the amazing music groups on campus. Overall, having a community of people who care about the arts just as much as me and the opportunity to practice my art, see performances, and learn new things in such a supportive and kind community is easily one of my favorite parts of being at Amherst College.