Editor’s note: An abbreviated version of this story ran in the May 10 print issue of The Collegian.
On May 4, Delta College held its first-ever dance festival in Danner Hall. The event boasted more than 15 performance groups and various vendors selling products ranging from crochet to grilled cheese for attendees to check out.
Performers included Delta’s very own Stockton Delta Dance Company (SDDC) and the dance department’s 36A Hip-Hop class. Other local performers included Cesar Chavez High School’s Titanettes, Arthur Murray Dance Studio, EXP Dance Club, Huitzitzilin Ollin, Bear Creek High School’s Japanese Chinese Korean Club and Uplifted By Energy.
The festival was hosted in partnership with SDDC and the Associated Students of Delta College (ASDC). One of the event’s main organizers, Kayla Bornea, who serves as SDDC president, felt the event went well, especially due to the energy and support that the dancers and crowd brought to the day.
“I think it went really well. It looked like people were enjoying themselves like during the workshops, especially too, I thought that was kind of crazy how there were so many people for workshops. And the performances, the energy was off the charts, like it was for each set too,” said Bornea.
Three dance workshops were taught throughout the day: the first was in swing dance, the second was in flag dance, and the third was in vogueing. Attendees were welcome to get up and learn the basics of a dance style they may have never experienced before. The workshops were seen as especially important because they provided a free learning opportunity.
“It’s just all a part of awareness and spreading the awareness of dance and the 209 dance community you know, not a lot of people have these workshops, and not only that, not all the time that it’s free, so it’s all about giving the people that want to dance and learn more about dance a real opportunity and a free opportunity to try and dance,” said dancer Payton Wilson. Wilson is part of SDDC and a student in the dance department at Delta; in March, Wilson taught another free choreography workshop for the Delta College Community.
Some attendees who do not consider themselves dancers also took part in the workshops, to which they were met with support and encouragement from everyone else involved.
“No, I am not a dancer. I have two left feet. Even as a child, I was really bad at dancing. However, I’ve always loved vogueing. It’s always something about gay culture that has always been very deep in my heart, especially someone who is gay. So it was very enriching to do that. It felt very scary, and then I got into it, and I felt a little bit at home. It was a very warming experience,” said festival attendee and ASDC secretary, Layla Alaswad.
Alaswad felt that the encouragement felt during workshops and performances was influenced by an overall feeling of encouragement at Delta College.
“It’s something that I love about Delta, especially where you can do these things without feeling like you’re gonna be judged, and like this dance festival is honestly an amazing space, a space for dancers especially. I’ve never felt so, I’ve never felt such a warm community. Every dancer was roaring, like from the audience, was just cheering on and on and on. So, that’s why that honestly that gave me the confidence to go up there to the workshop,” said Alaswad.
Organizers of the event felt that a day of workshops and performances from local dancers would be a way to showcase that there is a thriving dance community at Delta and in the 209 area. The festival was a way of connecting people to that community who may not have previously known of its existence.
“It was so important in really just awakening, whether it’s reawakening or just first awakening, for Delta and the community to know that dance exists in our community. A lot of people don’t really know that there is a dance company at Delta even though they’ve been around for over a decade, and so just being able to be part of that group and that planning community committee and the performers to just show that like dance exists and the arts are important too,” said SDDC treasurer Aliza Paulino.
Even though there were a few behind-the-scenes difficulties, such as location changes due to weather, those in attendance still saw the potential for what the event could be. Attendees felt that the festival was an opportunity to come together to express individuality and embrace community through dance.
“I think that even though we were inside because it was raining, I think that the community is still there, the world of dance is still here, and like we saw it today like it’s not dead, it’s not gone, it’s still here, and it’s inside of everybody,” said German Isaac Estrella, a member of SDDC.
For many of the festival’s performers, being able to show their art style to younger attendees was also inspirational, as it gave an opportunity for them to experience dance that may connect to them on a greater level.
“It’s definitely a torch. Like it’s definitely like, oh, here’s my flame, I’m passing it on to you, and what you do with it is your idea of artistic expression to the world, and it’s your responsibility and [a] way to fuel the flame, so when you get to that point to pass it on, it’s a continuous cycle of art and expression of who you are as a person,” said dancer with The Gurlz Voguing Group, Izak Sotomayor Moschino.
Finding a dance community can take time, but experiencing it can mean finding a new way to express yourself as an individual while still embracing commonality.
“I ended up finding ballroom. It’s kind of like you know you can be yourself in a certain art form, and everyone is different, but it’s the same art form, but each person has their own flame to that art, and even if it is the same category, everyone has their own flame to that art and that to me it kind of woke something up but I really want people to grab from that, that you know this takes time it’s gonna take a minute,” said The Gurlz member, Kimóra BabyPhat.
For some, being able to perform in front of a large group of people at the festival was not only a way to showcase dance, but a way to represent.
“I am the only Black boy in the hip-hop class, and I feel like if I let that get to my head, I feel like I would do a disservice to all the Black people before me who created hip-hop or when it came to voguing I knew that as a Black queer boy, it was important for me to spread ballroom to other people who only probably seen it on the screens or their phones so I know mentally, mentally I knew that it was important for me to showcase my talents and my friend’s talents to a whole new group of people,” said The Gurlz member and SDDC secretary Ice Telfar.