RPI Dance Club

Welcome to our website! Learn more about us and how you can join!

Announcements

  • Please fill out the form below to be added to our mailing list to receive club updates and more dancing opportunities!
  • Come see us at at our fall performance on Sunday, November 24th at 12pm!

About Us

The Dance Club offers classes in ballet, contemporary, pointe, jazz, tap and hip hop. Classes are held weekly during the academic year. Every spring, we hold a recital in which dancers from each of the classes perform choreographed numbers. No experience is required and we encourage dancers of all experience levels to join!

Member Info

  • We welcome all dancers ages 18 and older! Note that classes consist of mostly college-aged students and adults.
  • The first week of classes is FREE!
  • For RPI students the semester fee is $75 for unlimited classes.
  • For Non-RPI students the semester fee is $105 for unlimited classes.
  • All classes are held in the upstairs studios at the RPI Mueller Center.

Class Schedule

All classes take place in Mueller Center 2216

Monday
Ballet Variations
6:00 - 7:30 PM
Beginner Ballet
7:30 - 9:00 PM
Tuesday
Int/Advanced Ballet
6:00 - 7:30 PM
Pointe
7:30 - 8:30 PM
Wednesday
Choreography
7:00 - 8:00 PM
Thursday
Jazz
6:00 - 7:00 PM
Hip Hop
7:00 - 8:00 PM
Sunday
Contemporary
5:00 - 6:30 PM
Tap
6:30 - 7:30 PM

Class Descriptions

Wide variety of dance styles

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Tap

Instructor: Emily Gunter

Tap is based on tap shoes, which have a thick metal on the bottom that's used to make unique sounds. Students will learn coordination and terminology and then apply rhythm into a tap routine. The class will have a warm-up to properly loosen the ankles and knees and then move into center floor work.

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Beginner Ballet

Instructor: Natasha Nigam

The beginner ballet class begins with exercises at the barre and then moves to center for combinations that incorporate the movements practiced at barre in a more performance oriented fashion.

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Choreography

Instructor: Miranda Lee

Choreography class teaches dancers to harness their skills and craft their own unique dance pieces. Discussed topics include musicality, syncopation, and improvisation, with a focus on tailoring choreography to individual strengths. Dancers will have the ability to choreograph various pieces while receiving personalized feedback throughout the process. Students have the option of showcasing their final piece at a Dance Club Recital, offering a platform to share their work with an audience.

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Contemporary

Instructor: Emily Gunter

Contemporary is a mix of classical ballet and modern dance. It adapts ballet choreography to today by allowing a greater range of movement than the strict body lines of traditional ballet. This class starts off with a warm up of classical ballet and then combines it with modern dance to move the body in a variety of ways. The dances in this class combine emotions, technique, and the use of space for a beautiful end result.

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Hip Hop

Instructor: Nicole Ravella

This class will introduce students to the history of Hip Hop culture with basic moves and original choreography in order to build stamina and increase musicality. Each class begins with a warm up and stretch followed by across the floor and a short combo set to hip hop music. Each class will focus on different hip hop styles, breaking, dancehall, and traditional hip hop moves to develop body balance and coordination.

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Ballet Variations

Instructor: Emily Lardizabal

Variations is an hour and a half long ballet class focused on learning variations (solo dances by characters) from classical ballets. Throughout the year, we will learn several variations and choose one or two to perform in the recital as a group. The class will begin with a short warm-up barre, and then the rest of the class will be focused on learning the variation. This class is more appropriate for students in advanced ballet, as the pace of the class will be semi-fast, but those with at least some prior ballet training are welcome.

Instructors

Performances

upcoming and past performances

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Fall 2024 West Hall Performance

Saturday, November 24th - 12pm

Our Fall 2024 performance will be held at West Hall on Sunday, November 24th at 12pm.

Virtual Option: You can watch the show virtually through this link! - TBD

E-Board

Meet the officers

Emily Lardizabal
President

Emily Lardizabal started dancing when she was three years old at Acton School of Ballet, where she took ballet and contemporary classes, as well as taught ballet to young students. She joined the Commonwealth Ballet Company in her sophomore year of high school and performed many roles, including Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, and Cinderella in the ballet adaptation of the story Cinderella. Currently, Emily is a second year student, working towards her B.S in Biomedical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Pia Wilson
Treasurer

Pia Wilson has been dancing most of her life, training in ballet since she was 5 years old. She completed most of the Royal Academy of Dance ballet curriculum in South Africa, where she grew up, until moving to the US in 2021, where she continued dancing at a small studio. She is now a freshman studying Biomedical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and joined the RPI dance club to continue her love of dancing.

Miranda Lee
Showrunner

Miranda Lee started dancing when she was four years old and is trained in ballet, tap, jazz, and contemporary. She competed with The Force Dance Company for Broadway Bound Dance Center in Hunterdon County, New Jersey for 10 years. She has choreographed for Broadway Bound recitals, and children's musicals local to the Hunterdon area. Currently she is studying Chemical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she is also the Showrunner of the RPI Dance Club.

Alexa Shaw
Webmaster

Alexa Shaw started dancing when she was four years old. She has trained in ballet, jazz, modern, tap, and hip hop. Currently she is studying Information Technology and Web Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she is also the Webmaster of the RPI Dance Club.

Kaleigh Martin
Secretary

Kaleigh Martin began dancing at 4 years old and danced for about 8 years before taking a break. She has since been dancing again for a little under 2 years. She is trained in ballet, contemporary, hip hop, and a little in tap and jazz. Currently she is working on her undergrad in physics here at RPI. She is also a secretary for the club.

Ariana Torres
Choreography Chair

Ariana Torres started dancing at six years old at the Coleman School of Dance and graduated high school with a performing arts seal in dance. Balancing roles as both a performer and part-time instructor, she portrayed key characters like Coppelia, Odette, and the Queen of Hearts. Now in her second semester with RPI's Dance Club, Ariana is eager to continue refining her skills and exploring new avenues of expression.

Contact

Contact Us

Our Address

110 8th Street, Troy NY 12180

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RPI Dance Club

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