A student dance group has arrived on campus and they will be joining the two dance groups Kean University already has to offer, Kean University Dance Ensemble (KUDE) and Kean Dance Theater (KDT). Kean Musical Movements (KMM) is another group for anyone who loves to dance or enjoy attending dance shows to keep an eye out for.
KMM formed in the spring semester of 2016 mainly "because I felt like Kean [University] didn't have a dance team for both genders to be able to express themselves in their [own skin]," comments Co-President of the group Tyisha Cummings-Norman, who is a senior majoring in psychology.
She continues to say that KMM — a group with 13 members (five men and eight women) — "dance moves are made to fit [everyone]. I want [the] dancers to be comfortable and dance freely and not feel forced to do a certain type of dance."
Cummings-Norman continues to express her feelings as to the reason the group started by saying, "with my experience with dancing I've seen people dance to just dance, but there was no emotion behind it." By being a part of KMM, members will know that emotions play a huge part of their performances.
KMM is a prestigious and intensive dance group; all dancers willing to join the group must audition.
"We are seeking dancers with a more advanced dance background in any dance style, but of course all are encouraged to audition," comments Wily Mena, who is a senior majoring in theatre performance and minoring in dance. He is also co-president of KMM.
As a dance group, KMM "hopes to share emotion." Dancing is not an activity where one just moves his or her body. As Cummings-Norman comments, it is more than that.
"It deals with your mind, body and soul. You can change people's lives through dance. You can be a major impact and really touch someone's soul by dancing with emotion," Cummings-Norman continues.
KMM had an event called For The Love of Dance on Wednesday, December 14, 2016. This was its debut event to the community of Kean University. The event was hosted in Wilkins Theatre from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
"The group and I hope that the audience is as energetic as we are and that the campus community will come and support us," comments Mena. "We just want to share new and creative ideas and choreography and showcase all of our talented dancers to those who attend. As a new Kean [University] club, our show is going to be memorable and we want all to participate in it with us."
"If you are looking for a more intensive dance group who can help you develop your dance skills and find new opportunities in the dance world, KMM is the club to join," comments Mena. The group meets every Tuesday from 3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m at the dance studio located in the D'Angola building. In order to become a member of the group, one has to audition and spaces are limited. Auditions are held at the beginning of every semester.
To find out more information about the group, learn about the members, follow news on the group and know when auditions are being held, follow KMM on Instagram @kean_musical_movements.
