BY REBECCA GAGNON ’23
Members of the Five College Consortium dance program are addressing the isolation associated with social distancing through the Five College Dance Away challenge. The programs decided to create a hashtag that would keep the members of the community connected through dance — #fivecollegedanceaway.
“It all happened because Alex Ripp [director of Five College Dance] wanted the students to be engaged and she wanted to create a community atmosphere,” Shakia Johnson, a Five College lecturer in dance said. “She wanted folks to do a #danceaway, #fivecollegedanceaway, and get everybody … in motion.”
Johnson decided to join in because of a suggestion from a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who suggested that Johnson do a challenge on TikTok to get everyone in the community involved. Johnson described her first dance challenge as unchoreographed, and was surprised about how many students responded to the challenge.
“Week two, I actually made something up and not only did I [post] it on the Five College Google Drive so that other students could get it,” Johnson said, “but I did it for my classes as well … it has been a hit every week. I added the Five College tag and it just got really big.”
Students from all Five Colleges have been posting videos of them dancing using #fivecollegedanceaway and there are a couple of pages on Instagram, such as @postcard.dances and @fivecollegedance, that post these videos as well.
“For me, and I’m sure everyone else, the news of switching to remote learning was absolutely devastating for the obvious reasons of missing time with friends and the on-campus experience of college, but this also meant the loss of an incredibly important community that relies on in-person practice,” Miranda Lawson ’22 said. “I’m a dance major and [am] heavily involved in the Five College dance community outside of the major. Dance practice relies so heavily on a sense of community and not having that has been really hard. I use the hashtag and try to show up for the Five College dance community as much as I can because it is the closest thing I can get to being in a studio doing what I love.”
“This situation is really hard already and I found myself down most days,” Johnson revealed. “Then I go on Instagram and see all of the students with the hashtag and, wow, [it] really brightens up my day and all I can do is smile. I am going to keep doing it and I am excited about it. Seeing [her students] move without me saying ‘5, 6, 7, 8’ is just a beautiful thing.”
Johnson hopes that everyone continues to keep dancing even when the semester is over. “It is really important to keep the community, too, because we lost some time together, so it just feels nice to see everyone’s face,” she said. “I am hoping that that will continue.”
Lawson states a similar feeling about the dance community. “All the communities are taking a bit of a hit right now,” Lawson said. “I’m really grateful to have a way of continuing to do what I love in relation to others even if it’s just through the internet right now. I think it is really lovely to see professors, students and alum come together.”
“I want to say, whatever happens in the fall, we should always try to keep the community together with some movement,” Johnson finished. “I hope students continue to move and have a positive outlook on things. We really need to appreciate the moments we are together, now even more.”