Hopkins offers all kinds of dance opportunities: Indian, hip hop, modern and even Chinese Lion dance. Within this plethora of dances, where was ballet to be found? Nowhere.
This is precisely the reason that sophomore Jessilyn Dunn decided to take matters into her own hands.
"I tried to find my niche Hopkins ... ballet was always my passion but none of the dance teams here seemed to focus on ballet technique. I started going to the modern dance classes ... but this year I decided it was time for change. I knew there had to be other students out there just like me who had dedicated much of their lives to ballet and did not want to give up."
With a lot of paperwork, a petition of interest, and hours of effort, the Johns Hopkins Ballet Company finally came into existence. Offering two open student-taught classes per week, the JHU Ballet Company encourages all levels to participate, the main requirement being passion.
"I would like to see our classes become a permanent way for any students at Hopkins interested in ballet to give it a try, even if they have never had previous experience," Dunn said.
Recently, Homewood Arts has been holding open ballet classes, separate from the company's classes, taught by professionals on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The establishment of the company seemed like the next step. So far, it has been seen as a welcome addition to the campus.
"When Jessilyn came to me, I thought it sounded great because it is different than any other group on campus," said Eric Beatty, director of the Homewood Arts Program. "Ballet is an exiting form because it is the foundation for dance that a lot of people study, from which they then branch off an do other things ... We just started offering classes and so there was a nice synthesis of events."
Students interested in ballet are relieved to finally find an outlet for their passions.
Sophomore Kate Flores expressed her enthusiasm, saying, "I used to dance ballet from first grade through my senior year of high school. I know that there are ballet classes offered here at Homewood, at Peabody, and at Goucher College, but they simply haven't fit my schedule most of the time. With that said, when I found out that the JHU Ballet Company's classes fit my schedule, I was psyched. It was icing on the cake to find out that joining the JHU Ballet Company also meant having the chance to perform again - I haven't performed since my junior year of high school."
Flores isn't the only one who is thrilled at the chance to continue dancing. Freshman Adam Reiffen, the token male member of the Company, discovered ballet his senior year of high school during a break from his busy practice schedule as captain of the varsity football team.
"I fell in love with it and knew I would continue in college," Reiffen said. "I'm just trying to improve my technique. I have flat feet, small calf muscles, no turn out and a hamstring injury, but I'll be damned if I don't enjoy it and I'll continue to work hard and push myself at it."
Unfortunately for Reiffen, it looks like his hamstring injury will keep him out for the rest of the semester, but he plans to return next year with every intention of performing.
As a member of the Allnighters and a SigEp pledge, Reiffen seems like a man's man and completely undeserving of his nicknames like "The Swan" or "Tchaikovsky," after the composer of The Nutcracker.
"It's cool to force people to change their perspective ... I don't feel like there is a sign over my head but I'm probably the only guy on campus who dances ballet ... it's kind of fun to be unique in that regard," he said.
With such a warm reception, one cannot help but wonder why the creation of the ballet company is so long overdue. "I think it takes the right person to come along and do the leg work and other people who are committed. Hopkins students are so busy ... It could be that ballet is the kind of form that you need to do on a regular basis and people weren't quite ready to commit," Beatty said.
That is precisely the case, explained Dunn, who insists that the company practice at least twice a day.
"Ballet is such a multi-dimensional form of dance. While on stage, the dancers look light and wispy, but it takes such strength and focus on technique that in actuality most ballet dancers are as strong as many athletes," Dunn said.
If this semester is any indication, students are now more than ready to take on the challenge of starting a campus ballet company. The past few weeks have proved more fruitful than the fall semester did.
"Last semester was rough because there wasn't enough time after all the time spent actually starting the company to prepare performance pieces," Dunn said.
This semester, however, the company has one finished lyrical performance piece choreographed by freshman Kara Mirski and another more classical one by Ashlee Aaroe.
"It was a little nerve wracking [choreographing "Steer"] because I didn't really know the girls - their styles, abilities or even their names! - but overall I think it went really well. I'm proud that they handled what I threw at them. As for inspiration, I really like choreographing to the music. I think dance is a method for interpreting music for the audience."
Mirski's piece, "Steer," was performed for the first time at the JHU Model UN Conference this past weekend.
Due to space constraints, the performance was less than stellar and costumes were not the most flattering; the potential, however, was definitely evident.
Flores agreed, saying, "I thought our first performance was a little challenging, since the area on which we had to dance was rather small; however, for a first performance, I thought it went smoothly ... I felt good overall about it."
The members of the Company are not satisfied, however, with the progress they have made thus far. They see the company becoming a fixture in the Homewood arts community.
"Next year we plan to join the Performing Arts Council to become audition-only, and also we would like to prepare a show featuring the entire company, hopefully with costumes and all - if we can raise enough funds," Dunn said.
"It would be nice if the school could fund us," Reiffen said, elaborating on Dunn's point. "It'd be great to have a floor on which the girls could dance on pointe ... but I think the interest is here and certainly the talent is here."
Flores noted that the Company is a force to be reckoned with on campus.
"We're very young, but we're already going fairly strong. The current members have pretty strong dance backgrounds, and with all our experience combined, some fun dance pieces are bound to come out over the next few semesters," Flores said.
With all this potential, it seems inevitable that the Company will soon become a notable arts group on campus.
According to Reiffen, "If Hopkins is interested in growing their arts community then the ballet company is integral in that augmentation."
