Dance at Barnard

Barnard’s dance program and the opportunities it offered were a huge part of what drew me to apply. Even though I didn’t start dancing seriously until high school, those four years of training made me more intentional about what kind of dance space I wanted in college. I cared deeply about finding a program that was inclusive and excited to create new things, while also being professional and challenging. Barnard’s dance program and dance clubs have gone above and beyond my expectations. From ballet class to the MAMA Project to Columbia Raas to modern dance classes, I’ve really enjoyed my experiences with the dance opportunities offered at Barnard and Columbia.

The first ballet class I took at Barnard was taught by Marjorie Folkman. I love ballet, but I’m often super nervous to join classes, as everyone can be really serious and competitive. But with Marjorie, I immediately felt at ease. She was full of lighthearted playfulness mixed with genuine professionalism. Her classes were advanced, but if she wouldn’t single you out if you weren’t as experienced. She was so supportive and thoughtful about the way she gave critiques. Marjorie even encouraged students to make mistakes, giving us space to try things that we didn’t think we were capable of. I could feel my strength and technique improving, as well as my confidence.

Beyond me praising Marjorie--I could really go on forever--I also wanted to take a moment to recognize how Barnard’s dance classes have the capability to transform rigid, serious, and competitive environments into something that is supportive, uplifting, and fun. In doing so, the classes don’t lose any of their difficulty or professionalism; I was sweaty and exhausted after each ballet class, and I was definitely improving as a dancer. There are also a lot of other ballet teachers with varying styles, so you can really choose what class structure and training works best for you. I’ve had a dance class almost every single day at Barnard, and it’s served as artistic training, exercise, and stress relief. Also, all of my classes thus far have had live accompaniment! I love that Barnard goes one step further to bring disciplines, like music and dance, together in collaborative ways.

Barnard also offers many different types of dance classes. We have Afro-Cuban dance, Ballet, Modern, Flamenco, Jazz, West African Dance, Hip-Hop, and more. The dance department tries hard to make the dance classes accessible to all levels--I had friends join classes with absolutely no dance experience, as well as friends who joined the highest level of ballet after 12 years of training. If you want a dance class solely stress relief and exercise, there’s a class for that. If you want a dance class that will provide training that will help push your dance career forward, there’s a class for that. There’s a place for everyone in the Barnard dance department.

I will say that often these dance classes are dominated by white students, particularly in ballet classes. Being a queer, low-income woman of color in a space that was made for white straight cis people was not always comfortable. I do think that Barnard is trying to make these spaces less exclusive, but it’s still sometimes difficult to find a home in these environments. Because of this desire to find a community in dance, as well as the desire to broaden my relationship with dance, I joined a couple of extracurricular dance groups. I joined Columbia Raas, a competitive Indian Folk Dance team, my first year, and joined Sabor, a Latin-X dance troupe, this year. In these groups, I’m learning entirely new dance forms, opening my mind to new ways to move and celebrate my body. Furthermore, these communities were created by and for communities of color. They celebrated cultures that are not often represented in spaces of higher education, making me feel more comfortable in my own non-white cultural background. Raas and Sabor also have a lot of funding from Columbia and Barnard, which made it virtually free for me to join. I didn’t have to pay for any travel costs for Raas competitions, even when we went all the way to Texas. I’ve never had to pay for costumes or t-shirts. It was so nice to be in a space where I could dance without worrying about affording it; to feel included and equal to the other members. I feel like there’s a strong level of solidarity and a drive within many dance groups to make these communities even more inclusive. I really appreciate this aspect of many environments at Barnard--we believe in our ability to make dance communities more inclusive and accessible, which is so important to me. As someone who has been apart of various dance communities before coming to Barnard, it’s like a breath of fresh air.

One final note: I am a little bit nervous to touch on this in a public forum, but I wanted to address the fat-phobia hyper-present in many parts of the dance world. I’ve found myself struggling with body image a lot since the very beginning of my dance training, and I don’t think I am alone in that. I appreciate how some Barnard dance classes and clubs try to create an empowering space for body positivity. Dress code is less strict for some ballet classes- I often wear a shirt and loose dance pants to class instead of a leotard. This helps to reduce the feeling that I have to showcase my body all the time. Also, in some of my modern classes, there are times where we are guided through a body centering exercise which involves closing your eyes. We would start out lying on the ground and feeling the space around us, taking breaths together and slowly making our way up standing through a various combination of movements. After standing, we would take moments to make eye contact with one another. Since everyone was acknowledging one another through eye contact, I didn’t feel like people were judging me on what my body looked like, how it moved, etc. It felt like they were appreciating the space I took up as a human being. These things helped me to let go of my rigid idea about what my body ​should look like and redirect that focus to actually dancing for myself. In terms of body inclusivity and positivity, I still think there is a long way to go in any dance space, but I do think that Barnard’s dance department has taken steps in the right direction.

I know this blog post covered a lot of content, but didn’t touch on everything, including performance opportunities, dance class structure, etc. If anyone has any other questions about the dance department, feel free to send an email to the Barnard Ask A Student email account (askastudent@barnard.edu) and someone will help you! Another fellow BSAR, Bri Virgorito, wrote about all the different groups a while back. You can access her blog post ​here​ for more information! Thanks for reading! Maybe I’ll see you in the studio. :)