Students start Hip-Hop Club

It’s 3:15 p.m. and Hip Hop Club’s biweekly meeting has begun. Tossing one-liners and jokes at each other, the girls take their place before the dance mirror. They stop their laughing and stand confidently in formation.
“Attention E-A-S-T,” sophomore Mitchelle Ndegwa called.
Three claps to the right. A stomp with a clap between the legs. A quick turn followed by another stomp.

“We are the Y-O-U-N-G-S-T-A-R-Z,” the other girls responded while completing these moves.

The stomping stops and the easygoing atmosphere returns. Comments on each other’s nails are exchanged as they continue to absentmindedly stretch. It seems as if that complicated stomp just performed was second nature to them.  But underneath this smooth exterior, there is a story of hard work.

The Youngstarz Hip Hop Club was started last spring by Ndegwa and sophomore Keisha Layton. They wanted a way of showcasing their love of hip hop dancing by performing at pep assemblies. None of them had much of a professional dancing background, and therefore didn’t feel prepared enough to try out for drill team. Although they aren’t specifically a stomp club, they plan on making that a main component.
“Our stomp is going to be at the beginning, like our signature thing,” Ndegwa said. “Kind of like how the Lancer Dancers dance to the fight song, well that will be like the stomp for us. Stomping is just like stomping your feet on the ground with clapping and putting a beat to it, without looking crazy.”

After deciding on the main parts of their club, they took their idea to Krawitz and were approved three days before school let out. It was at that point that the group encountered their first road block.

“We had trouble finding sponsors and then having something to present to them because you can’t just go in there and be like oh I want a hip hop dance club,” Ndegwa said. “Starting out with a basic plan for ourselves was the hardest part.”
After many discussions of what their club would be they took their idea to industrial technology teacher Shaban Scott, science teacher Rubye Davis and the former athletic director Jim Ricker. All of them agreed, and Ricker emerged as the main sponsor and helps the girls by providing guidance on how the club should function.
“Right now we are trying to get these kids to see the same goal or have the same vision for what they want the hip hop club to look like,” Ricker said. “Being mostly sophomores they are just learning that sometimes leadership is making that first hard decision about the way things have to go.”
Leadership has definitely proven to be an issue for this club. They have learned that leading a group of independent dancers can prove harder than performing the difficult moves such as the “Jerk.”
“It used to be so chaotic,” Ndegwa said. “There were times when I would just leave and stand outside and wait for them to finish talking. I couldn’t do it.”

After several disagreements over who had a say in the dances, Ndegwa and sophomore Keisha Layton decided to do something about it.

“Keisha and I had the idea of having meetings after practice and just saying how it went and if we got anything done,” Ndegwa said. “This has helped a lot because everyone feels like they have a say in everything and we get along more.”
On the bright side, their differences have brought the group variety in their dances.

“We all have different personalities,” Ndegwa said. “It’s just the way we are. Diamond, the freshman is fun and exuberant and bounces everywhere. It’s funny to watch her dance because her hip hop isn’t really on point or stiff, it’s more energetic. Keisha has her own little swag to her moves and and has to put a sway in everything. For Julie, she’s a bit shyer so her moves are more timid but still on point and for me, I try to hit every beat.”
Despite the girls being able to work well together, there is still the issue of size. They originally started with five girls, but lost one of them when she transferred. Since then, dancers have come and go, but other than the originals, not many have shown commitment.

“When I first started this club, I thought it would be easy,” Layton said. “But it’s actually been difficult. One day someone will say that they are in the club and the next day they will drop out. It’s like a roller coaster.”
In hopes to increase interest they have been having donut sales on Fridays and plan on hosting tryouts in the near future. Their hopes are that they can have at least twelve members before they perform at pep assemblies.
In the mean time, the girls will continue to meet twice a week in the dance room to perfect their dances and to talk about their goals.
“After we graduate we want it to stick,” Ndegwa said. “We have one freshman and we make it so clear to her that she has to take control when we graduate. We want it to stay at East and be a signature thing. We want it to be like when you hear of the Lancer Dancers you also hear of the hip hop club.”