Semester 3

Arts TRYathlon #1: NextNOW

Event Logistics (Tuesday, September 12, 2025, NextNOW Fest, Phunktions Dance Workshop)

#dance

During the NextNOW Fest, I participated in the dance workshop hosted by Phunktions Dance Company. I was taught hip hop choreography and performed it in small groups at the end of the class. As learned in my Arts Scholars workshop, hip hop originated around the 1970s at block parties with DJs such as DJ Kool Herc. There are five elements of hip hop dance including MCing, DJing, breaking, graffiti, and knowledge. MCing refers to vocal rhyming or rapping. DJing is the manipulation of music and sounds to create beats. Breaking showcases a gymnastics and martial arts style of dance with other cultural influences. The high energy moves were displayed during the breaks in music in the club. Graffiti is an art style showcased on buildings and walls as a form of a social uprising. Most artists highlight their work in public places and tag it by putting their names on the artwork. The last element of hip hop is knowledge. Knowledge weaves together the history of hip hop expressing the Afro-diasporic mix of political and spiritual turmoil used to empower oppressed groups. It helped give a voice to groups who were oppressed during this time including Black and Latinx groups.

Arts TRYathlon #2: Choose Your Own Adventure

Event Logistics (Friday, October 3, 2025, National Pan-Hellenic Council, All-Niteish)

#dance

I participated in the 2025 All-Niteish event hosted by the National Pan-Hellenic Council. As part of my dance team, Phunktions, we performed a dance to the song “Crazy” by Doechii. Before beginning the choreography, we were told that the theme for all-niteish was occupation and ours would be the Mad Scientist. The choreographers provided us with their vision for the piece including telling us to act as if we are crazy and deranged throughout the entirety of the piece. This would require us to dance with crazy high energy and clean but also slightly messy movements to showcase to the audience that we are “mad.” The choreographers made artistic choices to express this message by having someone dragged off the stage by her feet and having one of the dancers act as if they are trying to break out of a straitjacket. These choices elicit emotions in the audience such as surprise, fun, and enjoyment. It gives the audience an appreciation for the art form they are watching and admires the time, commitment, talent, and craft it takes to produce a piece that engages them. Costume design and lighting also played a part in developing the message to the audience.

Arts TRYathlon #3: Arts Scholars Event

Event Logistics (Friday, September 5, 2025, Art Scholars, Sweet StART Arts Scholars 2025 Welcome Event)

#dance #artsscholarsevent #visual art

I attended the Sweet StART Arts Welcome Event, where I received free Maryland Dairy ice cream and participated in Damaya’s dance workshop. We learned and recorded a k-pop dance that was cute and fun. This event helped to foster a community within Art Scholars. It gave me the opportunity to talk to and connect with freshmen and other sophomores in the program that I never had the chance of interacting with before. It helped me branch out of my bubble. The dance workshop was a way to find other dance lovers or people willing to try something new. I talked to some of the girls in the program about their dancing experience and their familiarity with k-pop in particular. As I am someone with not as much knowledge on k-pop, I was able to learn a little bit more about the culture of it through talking with them and learning the dance. We bonded over struggling to keep up with the choreography and being excited over the finished product when we finally got it. Through the various activities at this event, including painting, beading, ice cream, and more, the Art Scholars successfully brought people of different backgrounds, ethnicities, interests, and majors together to bond over the arts while having a great time.

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