Energy, Family Insider Reveals Bonds That Keep Riddim Jumping

Author: Lanford Beard

For anyone who has ever been to a Riddim show, the fact is that it is not just about dance. Sure, the pumping beats, synchronized steps and flashy costumes all emphasize the troupe's gyrating bodies, but more than anything, the event's significance rests not solely in the evening's visceral and carefree experiences but also in the unity that a group of 25 students can promote on campus and beyond.

Trying out for Riddim (and yes, it is "Riddim" — Jamaican patois for "rhythm") was really a fluke for me. I saw a poster, I tried out, I was in. Simple as that? Not really. In addition to the demanding rehearsal schedule that I was about to accept, I also had to move beyond my own experience — as a dancer and as a student.

When Director Tessa Waddell '02 conceived the idea of Riddim in the spring of 1999, she didn't know it, but she was forming the club for people like me. She wanted to bring to the forefront the many cultures and experiences available at the College so that Riddim could "educate and diversify the campus community through diverse forms of dance from all over the world."

So answer me this: Where in Vermont would I be able to dance an Afro-Caribbean gerreh if not at Middlebury with Riddim? And where else would students get to spend their Friday evenings experimenting with everything from break dancing to samba and reggae?

Riddim's intention has always been to share the cultures of all its members and students with the rest of the College, and this fall's show is especially emblematic. As eight seniors — among them the three founders (Waddell, Wesley Wade and Eve-Anadel Coronado ) are graduating and several members are going abroad this spring, Friday's show isthe group's greatest culmination to date: nearly all members will be together performing on one stage.

Whether we as a College are remembering those few members who cannot be with us this fall or celebrating the creativity and hard work of those who can, the show's theme, Zai Lai, is resonant for many reasons.

Zai and Lai are two Chinese characters that imply connection and reunion. These particular words were suggested by troupe Activities Coordinator Morgan Jones '04, who said that to him Zai Lai means "having another great show to give something good that people have not seen before."

Offering "something good," as Jones put it, encompasses an entire spectrum of meanings for Riddim members. For some, it means overcoming boundaries, "crossing all those unspoken lines and doing something because we have one sole desire — to dance," affirmed Toni Spence '04.

For Edlyn Chao '03, experiencing the Riddim from one show to the next is exhilarating, "I love the feeling when everyone 'gets it,' and when we perform having the crowd love it. I want people to get pumped up and itch to dance," she said.

And the beauty of Riddim, like any other family, is that there is no right or wrong in this multiplicity of meanings. With each additional meaning, the dances that we offer provide a new "channel of expression," as Chao calls it, and what Sara Stranovsky '04.5 calls a "renewal."

But what about the dancing? After all, we wouldn't exist without it. For those who attend Riddim functions, the dancing is learning without $500 worth of books. All viewers need are feet, possibly some saucy hips and an open mind, and don't worry about the sauce or the Riddim, because we can provide them both.

Wade himself was not the College's premiere Salsa dancer when he co-founded the club, but he commented, "I have learned an integral element of the Latin culture by knowing how to dance salsa and merengue, which I only learned here after Riddim's introduction to the campus. Being a Spanish major, it is a cultural experience. It has definitely added to my personality richly and made me more confident and open to try new things."

Just as I was accepted into the troupe without expectations, so is everyone who has an interest in or respect for dance, because in the words of Coronado, we are not "exclusive. That is not what Riddim was created for."

And this community to which we hope to add here at Middlebury is just the start; several troupe members expressed interest in performing at other schools, setting up an alumni program and integrating new forms of dance into our repertoire. In addition, another project in the works is an ongoing workshop connection with schools in the community to teach the kids to express and enjoy themselves through dance.

With these aspirations for the future, we now look forward to the immediate future: Friday night at 8 p.m. in McCullough.