Hey everyone, welcome back to the blog! The snow has finally started melting on campus, and while it’s still not the warmest out, I think that maybe the first signs of spring are starting to show? Possibly? I don’t know, maybe I’m just being overly optimistic. But regardless, something fun about this time of the semester is that there’s an overlap of winter and spring sports, meaning that while my lovely women’s lacrosse neighbors have started their season, I also still get to cheer on women’s hockey this weekend as well! Finger’s crossed we win NESCAC. Anyway, while we’re on the topic of non-academic activities on campus, I wanted to spend today’s blog talking about a club I’m part of on campus that means a lot to me; Intersections Dance Company.
Intersections Dance Company is one of the four student-run dance groups that we have here at Amherst College. In Intersections, we do everything from Contemporary to Jazz to Ballet to even Tap! The group is an audition based dance company (and we hold auditions at the beginning of every semester), but we don’t require people to have specific skills (you will never catch me doing the splits) or background in order to join, which means that, while we were all dancers growing up, we also all have really different experiences with dance. Every Wednesday, Intersections hosts an hour long dance class that is open to the whole Amherst College student body, and is meant to be an opportunity for people who have never danced before to come try it out! I really appreciate the fact that we consistently hold these classes because I think it really builds a sense of community, and I of course also love to drag my friends to classes. As a company, we also have a performance every semester to showcase what we’ve been working on. Here on the left, you can see me being dipped by my good friend Allie (happy to report that she never dropped me!), photographed by the very talented Leah Kallen. From our fall semester show this year, I have a very distinct memory of the song “Defying Gravity” being blasted while we all warmed up as a company and screamed the lyrics on the top of our lungs. I think it’s safe to say we are better dancers than we are singers.
Something else really cool about Intersections is that any company member is always welcome to teach a Wednesday class or choreograph for the semester show regardless of their year. Because of this, I was actually able to choreograph a duet with my friend Allie as early as the spring semester of my first year, and we choreographed again last semester! Tragically Allie is studying abroad this semester (though definitely not tragic for her considering the fact that she’s currently in Athens), so I didn’t really want to choreograph without her, but I am going to teach a jazz class this semester! In order to prepare for my class, I’ve been booking time in this small but very handy dance studio located in the basement of an upperclassman dorm on campus. I really love how much everyone in the company is encouraged to choreograph and teach, and in my personal experience it has boosted my confidence so much. I’m now also the Senior Social Media Chair of Intersections, which means that I get to manage the social media content and advertising for the club. (As a side note, this photo keeps showing up as right-side up when I edit this blog but sideways once I post it, so if it’s also sideways for you guys I apologize, and maybe just… pretend it’s an optical illusion?)
While I’m perhaps a little bit bias, I truly do think that Intersections Dance Company is a great representation of the club culture here. At Amherst, involvement in clubs and extracurriculars (we apparently have 150?!) is both encouraged and highly common, and since clubs don’t require any sort of application process, they are extremely welcoming and accessible. I think it’s pretty incredible that I was able to take on an e-board leadership position as early as the fall of my sophomore year, and I know many people who did so even earlier. During my college search process, I was admittedly a little worried that I would end up at a school with a highly competitive environment, but I’m happy to report that I have not found that to be the case at all here. Some of my favorite memories in college have been related to Intersections Dance Company, and I am extremely grateful to have found this lovely club. As always, if anyone has any questions about Amherst College, feel free to ask away! My email is eknauer27@amherst.edu. Bye for now!