Name: Julia Garrison
Year: Class of 2012
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Major: Sociology, Public Health (Social Sciences concentration)
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While I have thoroughly enjoyed my academic experiences at Hopkins, the one thing I look forward to most in the week is dance. Not only is it a great way to keep in shape, but its also fun and it can work to help you unwind after a tough week. Here on campus, there are tons off dance groups to choose from. It was really hard for me to decide, but I ended up settling on Ole Latin dance and Eclectics.
Through
Ole, I have not only learned tango, salsa, and meringue, but we also get to
perform our pieces around 15 times a year. We perform at the cultural block
party, opening and closing ceremonies of La Organization Latina Estudantil,
showcases of other groups, as well as a variety of campus events. The thing I
have found most rewarding about Ole dance is that we also perform at community
events. For example, as a celebration of Latino Heritage month, we went down to
a local elementary school in the Latino area of Baltimore and got to perform
for the entire school and their families. We also got to perform as a part of a
public health project in an attempt to draw more people to the community center
for vaccines and other health information. Dance has always been something
that’s made me happy, but it’s been great being able to share it with the
community as well.
Eclectics is a fusion dance group that teaches everything from hip hop to jazz, modern, tap, lyrical, and everything in between. This group has been a great outlet because it provides the opportunity to push your comfort zone and try a style you’ve never tried before. In this group, you can also choreograph. I just finished choreographing a 4 minute hip hop piece for this semester and have already begun a musical theater one for next semester. As a group, we also get to perform several times a year and we even have our very own showcase that happens every spring. Last year, we had the privilege of getting to teach dance at a local elementary school and then we invited them to perform at our showcase. We then collected donations to help their arts program at their school.
Not
only are there tons of other dance groups on campus, but there is also a lot of
dance in the greater Baltimore area! Recently, the Monsters of Hip Hop came and
taught classes at a nearby studio. There was also an event with classes taught
by Magic Mike, who appeared on America’s Best Dance Crew as a member of the
Boogie Bots.
Coupled with my love for dance is my love for music. One of my favorite classes that I have ever taken at Hopkins was taught during Intersession as a part of our sociology department. It was called “Pop Music, Pop Culture, and Politics in the United States” and it was about how music was used as a form of social protest and mirrored social movement. We covered everything from punk rock, to Woodstock, hip hop to straight edge, and everything in between. It’s classes like these that make me remember why I chose to come to Hopkins. They really do a great job of providing a way to combine interests with academics and look at things in a new way. Like in this class, I’ve found all my other classes to be just as engaging. One thing that’s also unique about Hopkins classes is that while they are interesting, they also all seem to have a practical purpose. I leave classes here feeling like I can apply what I learned to real life or a possible career, which is really reassuring. Between fulfilling my artistic curiosity and providing me with a set plan and practical application for my life post-college, Hopkins has really been everything I expected it to be. It challenges me in new ways and forces me to grow and learn in ways that I hadn’t anticipated before.
Year: Class of 2012
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Major: Sociology, Public Health (Social Sciences concentration)
************************************************************************************************
While I have thoroughly enjoyed my academic experiences at Hopkins, the one thing I look forward to most in the week is dance. Not only is it a great way to keep in shape, but its also fun and it can work to help you unwind after a tough week. Here on campus, there are tons off dance groups to choose from. It was really hard for me to decide, but I ended up settling on Ole Latin dance and Eclectics.
Eclectics is a fusion dance group that teaches everything from hip hop to jazz, modern, tap, lyrical, and everything in between. This group has been a great outlet because it provides the opportunity to push your comfort zone and try a style you’ve never tried before. In this group, you can also choreograph. I just finished choreographing a 4 minute hip hop piece for this semester and have already begun a musical theater one for next semester. As a group, we also get to perform several times a year and we even have our very own showcase that happens every spring. Last year, we had the privilege of getting to teach dance at a local elementary school and then we invited them to perform at our showcase. We then collected donations to help their arts program at their school.
Coupled with my love for dance is my love for music. One of my favorite classes that I have ever taken at Hopkins was taught during Intersession as a part of our sociology department. It was called “Pop Music, Pop Culture, and Politics in the United States” and it was about how music was used as a form of social protest and mirrored social movement. We covered everything from punk rock, to Woodstock, hip hop to straight edge, and everything in between. It’s classes like these that make me remember why I chose to come to Hopkins. They really do a great job of providing a way to combine interests with academics and look at things in a new way. Like in this class, I’ve found all my other classes to be just as engaging. One thing that’s also unique about Hopkins classes is that while they are interesting, they also all seem to have a practical purpose. I leave classes here feeling like I can apply what I learned to real life or a possible career, which is really reassuring. Between fulfilling my artistic curiosity and providing me with a set plan and practical application for my life post-college, Hopkins has really been everything I expected it to be. It challenges me in new ways and forces me to grow and learn in ways that I hadn’t anticipated before.
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