Social distancing guidelines at San Jose State forced the Dancesport club team to move its dance practices to Zoom starting Thursday.
“I felt it was just a short-term adjustment when classes moved online in February, but now I know that was naïve,” said Areeb Yaqub, a computer science senior and treasurer for the SJSU club Dancesport team, over the phone.
When SJSU announced that this semester would be primarily online, the club had to make several changes to comply with coronavirus protocols including switching to solo dancing rather than partner dancing.
But some members said the change actually led to more attention to detail on their fitness and dance routines.
“It kind of shifted more toward technique and taking care of our bodies, so we had a lot of workout meets,” psychology sophomore Alexia Figueroa said over the phone. “Since this whole semester will be online, we are still having meetings over Zoom on how to go about it.”
However, club members say it is difficult to understand the complex movements of the dances through Zoom.
“We need to see from all angles to learn a certain move or style, to really grasp what you yourself need to do for the dance,” Yaqub said.
The team also does not have access to its studio on campus, meaning members are not able to use the open space and lighting for practices.
“We have to be clear about how much space you might need, props for fitness activities and be explicit about lighting when we practice at night,” said Angelica Sham, an SJSU alumna with a degree in photography, in an email to the Spartan Daily.
Consequently, team leaders have to be mindful of other students’ situations. This includes the amount of space they have in their homes to dance and if they have to worry about any neighbors complaining about loud noise.
“It's a lot to take in but it helps us customize our activities based on these types of situations,” Sham said.
Practicing through Zoom also presents issues such as poor internet connection and fading audio.
“The whole situation is unfortunate,” forensic biology senior Jordan Santagata said in an email to the Spartan Daily. “It is difficult to dance without a professional dance floor and without a partner.”
However, club members said they still believe they will learn the different dances despite the issues practicing through Zoom presents.
“We do our best to learn and try to continue the hobby that we love,” Santagata said.
However, because dancing with a partner was a big part of the club, now members say they must focus on different areas of dancing when practicing solo.
“I am lucky to live with my partner, but those attending solo [classes], the focus is on technique and body mechanics,” Santagata said.
The team is also practicing different genres to accommodate solo dancing.
“We might dip more into other forms of dancing like line dancing, which doesn’t require a partner,” Yaqub said.
Because the team can’t start with their typical partner-dance base, they look to focus on the different challenges of solo dance.
“Our sport is partner-dancing based, but there are many technical aspects that can be worked on [with] solo [dance],” Santagata said.
She said she hopes the club will eventually return to in-person dancing after the pandemic.
“If we safely go about how to bring more people back, then it might work and we might be able to bring back partners dancing together,” Yaqub said.
Club members are still pushing for more people in the SJSU community to join the team despite not being in person.
“We have already filmed our first ad using members who live together and are partners together,” Yaqub said.
The club said it hopes to grow in membership before in-person practices can begin again.
“We are hoping to get more people and to reach more people and get them interested in the team,” Figueroa said, “So, when we do get back in person we are a strong team and fill our community.”
