Bring hip-hop dance to the MSU curriculum

 Do people really not want to learn how to dance? A wealth of clubs focus on western-style swing dancing and other forms of ballroom choreography. There is nothing wrong with these different styles of dance. They have an established audience and events which offer a lot of depth; however, having classes or structured clubs focused on a style like hip-hop and jazz could lead to valuable experiences for the students involved. 

On the 2022-2023 course list, DANC 150 is listed as a course “offered as needed based on student demand.” This course teaches social dancing, including ballroom and western styles, but does not expand beyond what has already been established in the community. Unsurprisingly, our scientific and research-based school is not exactly attempting to branch out into more forms of the arts. This western university focuses on many traditional values and western events. I’m not saying we should eliminate any of that established culture at all, but knowing that MSU already has a thriving dance scene to support new styles, the time is right to expand beyond just Wwestern dance and increase the spectrum of education for students.

The diversity credit in the core requirements is an opportunity to introduce students to new ideas and forms of education. Dance does not have to become a whole major or minor for it to be valuable to the students here. I do not think flocks of people will come out to Bozeman to specifically learn hip-hop and jazz dance just yet. Too many diversity credits do not diversify the educational experience in the way that a class centered on hip-hop dance would . Courses on American studies, the history of the West or Montana regional literature are not exactly helping people cultivate new interests. However, there is a MSU hip-hop dance club, @hiphopmsu, on Instagram, which is one campus club that is doing just that.  

As someone who danced jazz and hip-hop choreography for six years and had a teacher who taught the history of dance itself along the way, I can attest that this is a medium with great educational significance. Dance can teach perspective just as well as the discipline and musicality that is gained from the practice of it.

 This art form is incredibly open to interpretation because this could look like a dance elective, history course or anthropological study. Whatever form this is taught in can be viewed as diversifying students’ minds. Dance is everywhere, and people who dance are everywhere. It is a universal language, and yet this interpretation of the medium is left out of MSU’s academic study.