Aug. 10, 2022 鈥� When she begins her senior year in the Fall, Performing Arts student Madison 鈥淢addy鈥� Hitchcock will be among the very first Dance Studies majors at (海角社区CI). Hitchcock declared her major in Dance Studies in late Spring, as soon as she learned the Performing Arts program was offering the new major beginning in Fall 2022.聽聽
鈥淚鈥檓 really, really excited about it,鈥� Hitchcock said. 鈥淭his is what I always wanted to study. I think so many dancers would benefit from being a part of this program because it isn鈥檛 specific to any age, body type or experience level.鈥澛�
Previously, the University offered a Performing Arts major with a Dance emphasis, but this is the first Dance Studies major ever offered at 海角社区CI. And it won鈥檛 be your typical college Dance Studies major, according to Associate Professor of Performing Arts Heather Castillo, who has been a champion for the program along with Performing Arts/Dance Lecturers MiRi Park and Bonnie Lavin-Hughes.聽
鈥淭he degree is a global look at dance and how dance has always been a way to communicate and pass down our culture from generation to generation with the stories in our bodies,鈥� Castillo said.聽
The 海角社区CI Dance Studies major will be comprehensive as it will provide dancers with the athletic training and technique necessary for dance performance, but will also provide a broader look at how dance is integral to the human experience.聽聽
鈥淥ur new Dance Studies degree is a humanities degree instead of a traditional (dance) conservatory-style degree,鈥� Castillo said. 鈥淚f you want to take your body to the level of an athlete-artist, we will do that, but we will also foster a broad range of goals such as dance educator, therapist, social worker, talent agent and more.鈥�
Whereas the majority of university dance programs are built on a model from the early to mid-20th century, the 海角社区CI Dance Studies degree has a 21st century approach. Initially the program will center on dance forms like jazz, hip hop, contemporary dance and technology considering the cultural, social, and economic forces that have shaped dance.聽聽
鈥淭he dances we want to honor in our program all have developed in North America,鈥� Castillo said. 鈥淔or example, we have jazz because of the African people forced to migrate here. When you look at migration, forced migration along with the oppression of first nations people through the lens of dance, it creates an empathetic connection to our history.鈥�
The program is also open to everyone of all abilities. It doesn鈥檛 matter if you are self-taught on YouTube, had your dances passed on to you from your grandparents, or have training from a school or studio. 鈥淭o dance is to be human, we all do it. We created a program to study all aspects of dance as a function of history, social structures, and heritage,鈥� said Castillo.聽
That鈥檚 exactly why Hitchcock鈥攚ho can execute a flawless grande jet茅鈥攊s so excited about it.聽聽
鈥淚 grew up in the competition dance world,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e all had to look relatively the same. When you grow up in a studio like that, you tend to grow up with tunnel vision. This program at 海角社区CI has totally expanded what I can do with dance.鈥澛�
Park has danced or taught or choreographed in all kinds of settings from a Broadway show to dance schools to expensive private dance studios, but her heart is in hip hop, which has no barriers to entry for anybody who wants to dance.聽聽
鈥淚 have a background as a b-girl and a hip hop dancer,鈥� Park said. 鈥淚 learned for free in the park in Brooklyn. It鈥檚 just as vigorous as any other dance style, and it has shifted my perspective from聽鈥榶ou got to pay to play鈥� to 鈥榠f you want to get in it, you gotta get down鈥�.鈥澛�
Newbury Park High School dance teacher and dance team head coach Cameo Carolan is elated about the 海角社区CI dance major because many of her most talented students do not come from wealth, so pursuing dance in college was out of reach until now.聽聽
鈥淚 have had kids who are not going to college because they can鈥檛 afford it unless they stay local,鈥� Carolan said. 鈥淪ome of my really, really talented kids who want to go to college as a dance major have to consider far off schools like Chapman University. Channel Islands with its new dance major opens up so many opportunities for those kids who can鈥檛 afford to travel for a school. I鈥檓 getting tingles just talking about it!鈥澛�