Dartmouth Classical Ballet Theater Offers Free, Inclusive Dance Classes

Dartmouth Classical Ballet Theater, a new student group on campus, is providing free, inclusive dance classes, The Dartmouth reports.

"I noticed that other people weren't showing up to the classes, not necessarily because they didn't want to, but because they didn't know about [DCBT]," Rachel Hsu, president of the group, said. "I want to make sure that when there are opportunities, people know where they are and how to find them."

She spent the summer rebuilding the club and recruiting members to teach Zoom classes.

"[DCBT] is a really good space that unites dancers," said Pam Pitakanonda, a student ballet instructor. "There have always been people who love ballet and people who want to try it or want to grow in ballet, but there's never really been a space for it on campus."

DCBT is different from most dance groups on campus in that dancers are not required to audition or make a regular time commitment. The classes are flexible, and of a drop-in nature.

"One of the biggest things we're trying to spread about DCBT is that literally anyone can come," said social media manager Samantha Brant. "It doesn't matter if you've never done ballet in your life; we have beginner classes. We have higher-level classes for people who have been training for 15 years, too."

Read more on The Dartmouth.