New year, new start. Some students have made new year’s resolutions to kick off 2025. Whether you will be going to the gym more, waking up early or getting on top of schoolwork, this new year may signify a significant shift in your day-to-day life.
This year, put dancing on your docket.
The University of Oregon has several dance organizations that can help add new moves, fun and community to your college life. Check out these three featured organizations to dip your toe into the world of dance.
- Rhythm Nation: UO Jazz Dance Club: New club creates a space for the love of jazz
Mandi Mayling started her dance journey in the first grade and danced competitively for years. As a dance major at UO, she noticed a gap in her curriculum — there were hardly any classes for jazz style dance. Mayling decided that she would create a club for jazz, and she proposed the idea and gathered interest from other students.
To found the club, Mayling received a $2000 scholarship from the School of Dance and Music and applied at the Center for Student Involvement as a student organization. The club now runs biweekly pop-up classes during the odd weeks every Sunday night at 5:00-6:30 p.m. The class is designed for students of all levels and is run by students.
“It is a great space for students who didn’t make it into the dance team but still want to engage with dance,” Mayling said.
- Oregon Ballroom Dance: A place to learn, engage and help one another
Dancing with a pair might be foreign to some, but Oregon Ballroom Dance is a beginner-friendly space where you can try it out. Shania Savana Navarro, a junior at UO and the president of Oregon Ballroom Dance, joined the club during her freshman year.
“I always loved dancing but had never tried ballroom dancing,” Navarro said.
Oregon Ballroom Dance provides workshops from a variety of dance forms as well as time for social dance. It also holds an annual formal where attendants can dress up for a theme. “Disney” was the theme last year.
- Duck Street Dance Club: The community behind the breath-taking cool dances
You may have seen Duck Street perform at events on and around campus. The team not only performs a high-quality dance but also provides opportunities for students to learn and practice dance at weekly workshops, held on Thursdays and run by team members.
Ava Chand, a co-president of Duck Street, joined the club during her freshman year after her mom recommended she do so. Chand was “having a hard time adjusting” to college at that time and joining the club provided something consistent in her college life. Chand found her community at the club, meeting most of her friends there.
Chand advises dancers who are interested in auditioning to first come to workshops so that team members can recognize them as dancers. “It’s just one hour of your life,” she said.
These three clubs are only a few of the student organizations where you can engage with dance. Explore more clubs on the Engage page and start checking out new spaces!
