Suraya Jina danced the night away at the Danceworks Charity Showcase
As I entered the packed room in Jongleurs on the night of the Danceworks Charity Showcase Event, I thought to myself, "What a great idea."
The Society scene in Oxford is probably more like the collegiate system than one would think. Although I know a few society-whores, most hardcore members of student societies tend to devote their time exclusively to their chosen interest. The reason for this is simple: being a devoted member of more than one society is extremely time-consuming, and, where sports societies are concerned, physically demanding.
As far as inter-society events are concerned, these either tend to be occasional and not a priority for a lot of societies, or they may not be directly related to the activity itself, as in, for example, football matches between non-sports societies. They may also be restricted to certain groupings of societies, as in, for example, the International Cultural event which invites the National Interest groups; they may also just entail two, maybe three societies having an event together, or those which have traditionally always had socials together.
Bearing all this in mind, it is nice to see something a little different. While it is great getting to know people who you have something in common with, it is equally fun when you all get to interact with a different crowd.
This is why Danceworks was such a fabulous idea. It was the first time in recent years that all the dance groups in Oxford University had got together to showcase their talent. Not only that, all proceeds were going to a good cause.
Danceworks was the brainchild of Diana Ng, a second year PPE student at Exeter College. The project combined two of her passions: dancing (she is on the University Salsa Main Team, Escándalo), and community work. She thought it would be a good idea for the student dance societies in Oxford to have a chance to socialise and to show off their talents together to the University at large, whilst doing something positive for charity.
Diana was keen that the proceeds from the event go to a dance-related cause, and so approached RAG for advice. They informed her about the Oxford Aid to the Balkans project, still in its early stages, which partly involved paying for teachers in Bulgaria to teach dance to children in the orphanages there.
Diana decided that the charity would be a relevant and worthy cause, and enlisted the help of RAG to organise the event with her.
The night was successful and enjoyable, and there was a hugely supportive atmosphere in the room. Jongleurs was filled with performers and their fans, and at times the cheering drowned out the music.
The audience were treated to a varied programme and there were some unexpected twists to the routines which kept everyone hooked - the salsa performance involved sexy schoolgirls and schoolboys, the jazz dance encompassed elements of kathak dancing and belly dancing, and the streetdance routine involved a group of sassy girls in red gear.
There were also performances by the Greek dancing group, Dancesport couples, breakdancers and a belly dancer.
Afterwards, there was a salsa class and social dancing, which gave both experienced dancers and those who had never danced before the perfect opportunity to mingle and learn from each other.
It was thus plain to see that Diana had achieved another of her aims for that night - to encourage participation in University dance as a whole, by inspiring non-dancers to start dancing and experienced dancers to try other forms.
One of the most satisfying aspects of the night, it seems, was the fact that the event provided a forum for dance groups who had rarely been given a chance to perform before.
"The Greek dancing group and the streetdancers, for example, had never really performed before as they are fairly new additions to the Oxford University dance scene.
"I could see that these groups were a bit nervous about performing for the first time, but it was amazing how their confidence grew in the dress rehearsal and how they put on such a professional performance which got a great reception from the crowd".
The event raised over £1,000 and it is hoped that it will become an annual festival. Eventually the plan is to raise enough money to build a dance school for underprivileged children in Bulgaria.
20th May 2004