Open Styles Dance Club
The U of A Open Styles Dance Club allows students of all dance levels to learn dance styles including choreography and breaking in a safe and supportive community!
We also have a performance team that allows members to learn and experience how a dance team would operate.
Drop-in choreography classes run twice a week: Wednesdays and Thursdays. Our beginner and intermediate/advanced classes alternate between these two days and are open to all members. The performance team meets every Tuesday and has the opportunity to perform in various events and competitions around the city. On Mondays we host breaking classes open to all levels!
With various choreographers from various styles and availability for varying levels, members can learn at their own pace. We hold various events and fundraisers throughout the years for member bonding opportunities between the members and executives outside of dance. We end with a Year- End Showcase where members can perform solo or in a group with other members.
With more opportunities this year, we are planning more events and aiming for lots of community engagement opportunities! We hope members can learn a move or two and be a part of a community and learn more about dance culture.
Note: We’re most active on our instagram & email!
Club Executive
| Name | Faculty, Year of Study | Hometown | Joined |
| Graceli Licardo, Co-President | Arts / Education (Combined), 4 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | 2019 |
| Arsenio Milina, Co-President | Computer Science, 3 | Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada | 2020 |
| Megan Alvarez, VP Finance | Business, 3 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | 2020 |
| Adina Zholdybaeva, VP Finance | Business, 2 | Russia | 2021 |
| Tsina Clemente, VP Internal & Performance Director | Open Studies, 2 | Brampton, Ontario, Canada | 2021 |
| Xiting (Cici) Lao, Creative Director | Business, 3 | Guangzhou Guangdong, China | 2019 |
| Carmen Chin, Community Engagement Leadr | Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation, 2 | Whitecourt, Alberta, Canada | 2021 |
| Gabriela Mortensztern, Secretary | Arts, 2 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | 2020 |
| Thando Nkala, Videographer | Science, 3 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | 2021 |
Club History
The University of Alberta Open Styles Dance was founded in 2016 by students, including Kelly Phan, Jin Lee, Kevin Carreon, and Ramana Vasanthan. They wanted to create a club where new friends could be made and their interest in dance could be shared. Until recently, the club was known as “The University of Alberta Hip Hop Dance Club”, however as a club, we strive to learn and share dance culture and history with new dancers. Open Styles Dance is more representative of the club as we offer elements of hip hop culture, such as breaking, however, we offer styles of dance that are often mislabelled as ‘hip hop’ with their own history and foundation.