Hip hop is not dead

On Sept. 15, the Hip Hop Club, having recently merged with the Break Dancing Club, had its first meeting. Held in one of the dance rooms in the PE building, members got together to talk about their favorite subject, hip hop.

“Hip hop is not dead,” said Jay Arcansalin, president and founder of the club. “The hip hop club focuses a lot on dancing but also on the other elements of hip hop like rapping, DJing and graffiti.”

New and experienced dancers and DJs hung out on the floor, mingling and showing off their skills. “This is going to be your new family,” said Andrew Schanel, “b-boy” or breakdancer and vice president of the club.

The Hip Hop club welcomes all production styles and genres of dance and hopes that its integration of break dancers will help people feel like it is an open dance forum.Chelsea Ellis, currently teaching hip hop and jazz dance, has been teaching for four years and is the club’s faculty liaison.

“There are so many dancers in the area, its cool to for them to have a place to bring it together,” said Ellis. “The numbers of dancers in my class have exploded. Students at UVU are so supportive and open, everyone fits in.”

Meetings will be every Tuesday and will be open to helping new dancers work on style and routine. The last Tuesday of every month will be dedicated to a learning hip hop choreography. “We want to give the students a time and place to be involved in the hip hop culture,” said Arcansalin.

The Hip Hop club meets Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Contact them at [email protected] or join their Facebook group: UVU Hip Hop.