Hip hop dance class popular at SRSC

The beat of the music hits the students in her hip-hop dance class as senior Diana Ballas shouts steps into the body mic attached to her waist.\n"It doesn't matter if you have a lot of dance experience, or if this is something you just became interested in," said Ballas, a Student Recreational Sports Center leader. "I've never taken a dance class in my life."\nAny skepticism about her ability is quickly gone as she throws out a few sharp movements and MTV-inspired hip shakes.\nThe about 30 students in the room look at each other nervously before attempting the steps in class, which is offered Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. The classes are free to students and staff with a valid IU student ID. \nA girl in the back pulls her long, brown hair into a ponytail before focusing on the task at hand. A tall, blonde-haired boy in an IU basketball T-shirt adjusts his tennis shoes as he thinks through the steps.\nJuniors Mandy Ryan and Leah Karabenick get it right on the first try. \n"We always try to stand in the front row," Ryan said. "It's easier to see." \nLauren Conley, publicity assistant of the Division of Recreational Sports, said to show up at least 15 minutes early to ensure a spot in the classes.\n"It's such a good way to work out," Karabenick said. "You don't have to sign up for a machine an hour earlier; you just show up, and the class starts. Plus, it's so much fun you don't even realize that you're getting a workout."\nThe hip-hop classes are labeled in the Group Ex schedule as cardio classes. \n"They really get your heart rate up," she said. "You're moving almost the entire hour. I feel it the next day in my lower body; it also works your shoulders and your abs."\nBallas said students enjoy coming to the hip-hop classes as opposed to the more traditional aerobics classes because they can learn something they'll actually use at parties or bars. \n"This is the music that people listen to," she said. "It's the dancing that people do on the weekends."\nRyan and Karabenick said this is why such a diverse group of people show up for the classes. \n"There are new people here every week," Ryan said. "Lots of girls, and a few guys, people from all ethnic backgrounds and levels of dance experience all dancing together in one room." \nThe hip-hop dance movement depends more on performance than technique.\n"It's all about adding your own style. You see these people in here who can just do amazing things," Karabenick said.\nBallas said although everyone brings different levels into the classroom, no one looks down on anyone else. \n"It's a very laid back environment," she said. "Everyone has the chance to try whatever they'd like." \nAt the end of class, Ballas asked for volunteers to showcase the combination they just learned. The other students shout encouraging remarks from the sides of the room. "Ow, ow!" and "Go get 'em, girl!"\n"It's all about respect," Ballas said. "But most importantly, everyone should just have fun. It doesn't matter about the exercise or the steps; it's about the high level of energy and just having a good time in here."\n-- Contact staff writer Stacey Laskin at slaskin@indiana.edu.