Students practiced various break-dance and hip-hop moves at Raw Aesthetic Movements (RAM) Squad's fall dance workshop Saturday.
Four internationally acclaimed dancers, BBoy Napalm, April Rodriguez, Candace Brown and Gigi Torres, each spent an hour teaching original break dancing and hip-hop choreography. About 50 people participated in the workshop in the White Building.
"It's worth missing the game for, even if it wasn't raining," said Melanie LaVoie (sophomore-microbiology).
Ryan Wagner taught various break dancing steps during the first hour-long lesson. Better known as BBoy Napalm, Wagner -- who has won numerous international dance competitions -- was nicknamed for his powerful and explosive style.
Wagner wanted to see the students' signature steps, not just typical break dancing, because he attributes his success to his originality. Wagner encouraged participants to incorporate their interpretation of his steps into their repertoires.
"It's only 20 minutes in, and you're already sweating," said RAM Squad President Casie Goshow to a participant attempting one of Wagner's break dancing moves.
The final three classes were a part of The Essence MVMNT Workshop, a program put on by Essence, a Los Angeles dance company. Torres, who founded the group, and Essence dancers Brown and Rodriguez focused their classes on hip-hop choreography.
"We're not just here to teach eight-counts," Torres said. "Our pieces are about feeling and emotion."
Brown taught the second one-hour session.
"I really liked her style. It was slow and then would hit hard," LaVoie said.
Rodriguez, who danced third, explained more about Essence's inspiration.
"I dance when I'm happy -- to celebrate a talent I've been blessed with," she said. "Gigi draws from her dramatic life experiences, and Candace tends to be very soulful."
All four teachers talked about the future of their dance careers.
Wagner said he hopes break dancing will be considered a professional sport in time.
"While I can't do the choreography that the girls teach, they can't spin on their heads. That's their job though, and as break dancers we deserve to be considered professionals, too," he said.
