44 ARTS & CULTURE By CARINA FLOREA Waltzing for 50 Years While it’s often far too easy to get lost at Monash, many have found a home within the heart of the campus centre at Monash Dance Sport (MDS). Underneath the hurried feet of over-caffeinated uni students, hidden within the basement, there lies a community dedicated to twirling, waltzing and the occasional Macarena.
ARTS & CULTURE 45 By CARINA FLOREA "MDS is freedom: the freedom to dance, to express, to enjoy, to forget." When Monash University was established in 1958, Monash Dance Sport, formerly known as the Monash Ballroom Dancing Society, soon followed with its formation in 1965. Originally offering styles such as ballroom, latin and new vogue, the club grew and in 1999, split from Monash Clubs & Societies and joined Monash Sport. MDS currently offer latin and standard, street latin, swing, new vogue, theatrical and hip-hop/urban dance styles and regularly host dance nights. But if you ask any current or past member of MDS, they’ll tell you that the club offers so much more than what’s shown on their website. When asked to describe MDS, Amaris Lee said that "MDS is freedom: the freedom to dance, to express, to enjoy, to forget." As one of the oldest and largest clubs on campus, MDS recently celebrated their 50th year at Monash. After many months of hard work, the current MDS committee organised an event that gathered past and current members for a night of dancing, swapping stories and catching up with old friends. While some had left the club 10 to 15 years ago, there were others who could recall what it was like from the beginning. However, as the night progressed, it became apparent that while some things had changed, other things remained the same. Be it 1970 or 2001, it seemed like shy engineering boys continued to join the club in a bid to meet girls and countless sexual innuendos ("Ahhh that’s why it felt weird... I was using the wrong hand!") were created during the many hours students dedicated to learning dance moves. Even the rehearsal room remained the same throughout the years. According to Beatrice Greaves, a committee member during the early years of the club, the campus centre banquet hall hasn’t changed in the 50 years the club has operated. What also survived the years was the joy and passion elicited from being a part of MDS. Vatsal Kumar, a current committee member, describes MDS as his "family where people from different cultural backgrounds and different faculties get together and share their love for dancing," while Benjamin Ho says MDS is "something of a home to us all." This feeling of belonging and acceptance appeared to be unanimous. It seemed like everyone had a story from their time at MDS that ended in some form of praise or love for the club with many stories ending with... "and that’s how I found my wife/husband!" Regardless of where you are in your studies at Monash, MDS welcomes all types of individuals regardless of previous dancing experience with classes available in varied skill levels. However, some might say a great deal of courage and patience is also required in order to take the step and join. Randy Thanh Du joined MDS in his first year at Monash and says he recalls thinking that "MDS was one of the more obscure and unsettlingly difficult clubs to consider joining, especially compared to the more first year orientated clubs," yet like many before him, he stepped out of his comfort zone and in turn, discovered the hidden gem that is Monash Dance Sport. Current president Bilin Zhou says the 50th anniversary was a "fantastic way to mark how far we’ve come throughout these years" as past and current members bonded over their love of dance. And as the club looks back at its long and fulfilling past, it is clear that a legacy of acceptance and family has been built by generations of students who were courageous enough to step out of their comfort zone and into some dance shoes and this tradition shall keep going strong as the club progresses into the future.
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