This past week, members of Calvin’s dance minor program, Dance Guild and SAO came together to create a hip-hop dance workshop available for any Calvin student to attend. This event included a workshop and lecture led by Danielle Kimble, a graduate of Temple University. The purpose of this event was to allow students to explore the hip-hop culture and learn about its authentic expression.

Kimble is an expert in the world of hip-hop, with a Master of Education in Dance Education and many professional performances and experiences backing her hip-hop expertise. She has performed for Madison Square Garden, ESPNU, New York University and several other big name professional venues.

Students of all levels of ability came to the lecture and workshop and gave their best shot at learning Kimble’s complex moves. As one student from the creative dance class, Ben Aparicio, said, “I like to dance for fun and saw the experience as a ‘for the heck of it’ attempt, but the steps were too quick for me to stay in pace for all of it.” The workshop in particular had a great turnout, and everyone enjoyed getting involved and attempting the skilled art form. In the end, Kimble outlasted them all.

“I really liked how passionate she was about hip-hop. During the lecture we covered the history of hip-hop and during the workshop you could tell we were learning from someone who was informed and fully invested in the topic,” said dance minor Madolyn Hock. “It was an educational side to hip-hop which many never get to see.”

The lecture dove into hip-hop’s rich history, and Kimble broke down in detail each segment of the past. Video of dance and music were periodically shown to represent the transition of hip-hop in history from its origination to what it is today. “Hearing about hip-hop’s layered history was informative and a treat to listen to,” said Aparicio.

Going hand-in-hand with the lecture, Kimble used the workshop to demonstrate the different stages and branches of hip-hop in history by briefly teaching them to the students. No matter the level of experience in the crowd, all of the students were impressed by Kimble’s work and mastery of the topic. Even Hock admitted, “It was really fun, but the workshop moved very fast. I know I definitely learned some new stuff that day.”

Dance Guild and the other student organizations involved recognize the workshop’s success and hope to have more workshops similar to this one in the future.