Below are some groups we haven't seen activity from in a while. Most of these groups have an instagram or a direct contact listed; if these seem like a group you might want to revive, reach out!
Email: artsambassador@umich.edu
Instagram: @michiganarts
Focus/Mission: The Arts Ambassadors serve as the bridge between the arts and the University of Michigan Central and North Campus student population. This organization allows students to explore, appreciate, and create various forms of art. Active members can expect to participate in regular meetings and events, and contribute to our biweekly Press Play in the Arts at Michigan newsletter.
Email: artsincolorum@gmail.com
Instagram: @artsincolorum
Focus/Mission: Arts in Color is committed to cultivating a community of inclusivity within the Department of Dance through consistent dialogue and arts-based events surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion so that students can become agents of change as well as investigate the intersections of social justice activism and the arts.
Email: grimkesperformace@gmail.com
Focus/Mission: A.W. Grimke’s Performance Troupe was designed to create a more accessible theatre troupe that highlights students of color and students from all socio-economic backgrounds who may not have had access to professional training in the arts. We hope to be a new musical theater organization for performers of color (that are non Musical Theatre Majors) to perform already published musicals in reimagined ways that center marginalized voices. Grimke’s is meant to be a place of artistic development and maturation, this means you don’t have to arrive perfect, you just have to be prepared to collectively create something really good!
Emails: a2movimientolatino@gmail.com & ivargasa@umich.edu
Main Contact: Irene Vargas-Salazar (Vice President)
Focus/Mission: Community of dancers in Ann Arbor that love Latin dance. We offer classes in Bachata, Cuban Salsa (also known as Casino), Salsa On 2 (also known as Mambo or NY style) and dance techniques in all the styles in styling and movement. The classes occur once a week starting with bachata the first week of the month and ending with the technique class the 4th week of the month. Instructors are members of the Ann Arbor community who have experience both dancing and teaching these styles. Check out our Instagram for examples of our classes! The class duration is 3 hours and separated in the following sections for Salsa, Bachata and Cuban Salsa:
1) Beginner (1hr) for those who have never taken this class before, are very new to the style, or are just working on their fundamentals.
2) Social dancing (1hr) where you can just dance with other members or just talk and get to know the community! All levels are welcome!
3) Intermediate (1hr) meant for those who have more experience in the style. You can ask us for details on what this means for each style!
In our technique class we review the technique and movement in all the styles that you have seen over the month and we also have a chance to teach you a special wildcard style that changes every month! The last hour is still social dancing.
Additionally to our classes, we also offer a dance social once a month on a Friday (typically the third Friday) from 10pm - 2am. No partner necessary!
If you wish to learn how to dance these styles, have fun or even just get to know the community, we welcome you to these classes! Come dance with us!
Email: bilateral@umich.edu
Instagram: @bilateralumich
Main Contact: Meera Kumar (President)
Focus/Mission: The mission of the group is to build a community of those interested in bisexual+ issues, to promote discussion and dialogue within said community, to encourage understanding within the greater University of Michigan community, and to provide opportunities for those interested in bisexual+ issues to socialize with others with shared concerns.
Connect: linktr.ee/bilateralumich
Email: crbenn@umich.edu
Instagram: @bsidproject
Focus/Mission: Black Scholars in Dance is an organization dedicated to creating a community of black dancers at University of Michigan. Although its roots are from within the Department of Dance, it is open to all students, who love dance. We aspire to foster black dance education, create a supportive community, and to dance!
Email: joshsun@umich.edu
Focus/Mission: A reading club where Chinese students at UM interested in the humanities can meet each other and share their thoughts and passions. Club members choose the books they would like to read together; during weekly club meetings, members share their understandings of the readings and engage in fruitful discussions. Possible topics of the readings include but are not limited to literature, sociology, anthropology, history, philosophy, and political science. The club also holds various other events from time to time, such as film nights, poetry reading, and coffee hours. All Chinese-speaking students interested in the humanities are more than welcome to join us.
立春读书会是一个面向密歇根大学所有对人文社科领域感兴趣的中国同学的社团，旨在为大家提供一个互相认识和交流的平台。读书会还会定期举办各种其他文化活动，例如电影放映、读诗会等等。欢迎所有对人文社科感兴趣的同学加入我们
Email: tifichia1@gmail.com
Instagram: @umcinnamoncinema
Main Contacts: Mayne Mei (Secretary), Amanda Yu Jia Bian (Treasurer)
Focus/Mission: Cinnamon Cinema is established for the expressed purpose of developing filmmaking skills as well as an awareness of social responsibilities to promote Chinese culture. Through film and video production, our mission is to bring voices of Chinese students to the campus of University of Michigan and create meaningful experiences, a vibrant community, and lifelong memories for our members.
Email: thecreativesofcolor@umich.edu
Instagram: @coc_umich
Focus/Mission: Our organization is devoted to bridging a gap between artists of color and giving a platform to ALL creative fields. We wholeheartedly believes that our work is creating value for black creatives and the future generations of children who want to pursue careers in the field of art or technology. We are creating a community that draws people together who would otherwise not be engaged in constructive social activity, fostering trust between participants and thereby increasing their generalized trust of others, providing an experience of collective efficacy and civic engagement, instilling a sense of pride within our members’ work, increasing their sense of connection to the community, providing an experience for participants to learn technical and interpersonal skills important for collective organizing, and also increasing the scope of individuals’ social networks. Our project has implications that range from intrapersonal, to community-building, to a bridge between creatives of color across the globe.
Email: 2duemoda@gmail.com
Instagram: @2duemoda
Main Contact: Brandon Luca de Martinez
Focus/Mission: Through DUEMODA, our mission is to increase visibility of people with different walks of life that are otherwise underrepresented in the Fashion industry such as BIPOC individuals, the LGBTQ+ community, Women and people with disabilities. With this, our mission would also be to give resources and for people with lack of resources to become well connected in the world of fashion such as First generation college students, children of immigrants and people who are getting acquainted with US culture. However, this is not only limited to just underrepresented communities but for people who are passionate and interested in breaking into the fashion industry. We want our members to feel that they aren’t just another diversity token, but to feel that they can simply exist within fashion without having to explain their existence whether that be being BIPOC or Queer or both as examples of completing our mission of inclusion. Our organization also aims at social commentary through articles that question the lack of representation of marginalized groups in the fashion market at the University of Michigan.
Email: intheroundprod@gmail.com
Focus/Mission: In the Round is a student organization at the University of Michigan. We aim to provide a space for queer stories and queer storytellers. Each year, we produce multiple performances, musicals and plays, focusing on relating the themes of these shows to themes of queer culture. In the Round provides students from all different backgrounds with an environment to practice their artistic passion -- be it performing, directing, choreographing, tech, design, etc., -- in which all people are included, welcome, seen, and appreciated. In the Round aims to give queer people a voice as well as an opportunity to use their voice. All people -- in and outside of the queer community -- are welcome to join! The mission of In the Round is to create a safe space, in which artists can practice their passions and amplify queer voices.
Emails: khk-board@umich.edu & lucyco@umich.edu
Instagram: @kolhaka
Main Contact: Ava Berkwits (Secretary), Mariia Chernina (Vice President), Jessica Reinach (Treasurer)
Focus/Mission: Kol Hakavod is the University of Michigan's Premier Jewish A Cappella group. Since its founding in 1993, KHK has been dedicated to giving people from all backgrounds an opportunity to experience Jewish cultures through music. The group performs songs in a variety of genres in both English and Hebrew. In addition to traveling across the country to share their love of music, Kol Hakavod hosts their semesterly concerts at Hillel.
Email: michigan.masala@umich.edu
Instagram: @michigan_masalaa
Main Contact: Pehar Rampal (President)
Focus/Mission: We are excited to introduce a new non-competitive Bollywood dance organization at the University of Michigan, aimed at providing an inclusive and diverse space for students to explore and celebrate Indian culture through dance. Our group welcomes members of all backgrounds and dance experiences to join us in learning choreography to popular Bollywood songs while fostering a sense of community and cultural appreciation on campus. We hope to create memorable performances that showcase the vibrant and dynamic energy of Bollywood dance while spreading joy and happiness within our University community. We will begin late in F23 / beginning of W24!
Email: michiganmanzat@gmail.com
Instagram: @michiganmanzat
Main Contacts: Jaffy Jeevaraj, Meghana Choragudi, Abhinav Suresh, Meera Manek (Co-Presidents)
Focus/Mission: Michigan Manzat is the premier co-ed Bollywood Fusion dance team at the University of Michigan! Hailing from the legacies of Michigan Manzil and Izzat, Manzat seeks to combine U-M talent to put on creative and expressive performances on stage.
Email: michiganmazaa@gmail.com
Instagram: @michiganmazaa
Focus/Mission: The primary mission of Michigan Mazaa is to organize and run an annual festival on the University of Michigan campus, whose purpose is to engage multiple student groups and cultures in raising awareness and funds for charity through various events during the festival. We currently work with and raise money for The Hope Project, which is an organization that helps victims of human/sex trafficking through its rehabilitation center. Our primary mode of fundraising is through the annual dance competition that we organize and put on, A2 Dhoom, where teams all around the country come to compete.
Email: sapphic.reads.aa@gmail.com
Main Contacts: Nex Phthalo Green (President), Taylor Medendorp (Treasurer)
Focus/Mission: We are book club dedicated to reading Sapphic creative works and fostering a diverse Sapphic community! We read books, poems, zines, and more featuring Sapphic-identifying people.
Email: baconsas@umich.edu
Main Contact: Sasha Bacon (President)
Focus/Mission: Sonic Boom is a music organization focused on coordinating and executing live performances; facilitating musical collaborations between student music artists to help artists share their ideas and passions, as well as to help artists create professional, industry-quality records; promoting Black music on campus; and industry networking to help students boost resumes who'd like to work with the music industry after graduation. We are dedicated to equity and inclusion and spreading awareness of diversity.
Email: donovaro@umich.edu
Instagram: @thedrslaboratory
Main Contact: Donovan Rogers
Focus/Mission: The DR’s Laboratory finds new territory for Black artists on and behind the stage and screen by innovating equitable processes and protocols that inform our development of authentic, Black productions. We advance Black liberation research to divest from prejudices within performance, discover new solutions to exploitation in entertainment, and develop new forms in film and fine arts.
Email: marebyrd@umich.edu
Instagram: @juno_collective
Main Contact: Brooke Steele (Vice President)
Focus/Mission: Juno is established in order to address the need for a low-income, creative space on campus. Oftentimes in the hyper-academic, hyper-competitive environment of the University of Michigan experimentation that does not lead to an immediate profit, intellectual or economic, is disregarded. Similarly, despite the wealth of resources advertised by the University, all tend to be limited in some capacity, whether that be hidden Canvas courses, select majors, or few operating hours. Juno will seek a refugee from both of these issues, promoting artist experimentation and resource sharing. In pursuit of these goals Juno will operate on three primary projects: 1) The Juno website, which will be maintained and consistently updated with submissions of active and inactive members of the club. 2) Juno events, facilitated by executive club officers. This expands beyond club meetings and will include workshops, open mics, poetry readings, and art exhibitions. 3) Juno “Projects”. These will be members and officers proposed but facilitated by executive club officers.
Email: warp.executiveboard@umich.edu
instagram: @warp.um
Main Contact: Sonia Xiang
Focus/Mission: Warp is a queer POC centered organization that is focused on building community through fashion, sustainability, and creativity in a safe space.