by Bailey Musselman '18

On a beautiful sunny day, passionate students worked hard to put together DanceFest, a new spring festival to celebrate dance and unity at Knox College.

DanceFest was proposed when members of the Terpsichore Dance Collective wanted to create a celebration that would bring together all the dance clubs on campus. Other organizations involved with DanceFest were Knox Dance Squad, Flow Arts Club, Ballroom Dancing Club, KolorWorx, Pandora's Box, and the Knox Dance Program.

One of the co-producers of DanceFest was Elise Goitia '18, a psychology and creative writing double major who spends a lot of time in Knox's dance community, especially through her involvement in Terpsichore.

She explained the idea behind DanceFest, saying, "Knox is known for valuing diversity and uniting students in education through liberal arts. We wanted to do something similar, but concentrated so that the students at Knox who are passionate about dance could celebrate it together, and with the rest of the school. The end goal was to unite all of the dance clubs on campus."

Claire Cody '18, DanceFest's other co-producer, agreed and added, "We wanted to go all out, in a celebration of dance, of springtime, and of passionate Knox students! I'm hoping that DanceFest will become an annual event that continues to gain momentum and even reach out to other students and organizations, spreading our love of dance and movement across campus."

Another aspect of DanceFest, promoting social awareness about the Syrian refugee crisis, started to develop when Goitia met Hala Al Kash during spring term. Al Kash, who started the group Syrians Without Borders, spent a week on the Knox campus as the 2016 Stellyes Distinguished Lecturer, speaking with students and telling them about the dire situation of Syrian refugees.

After hearing Al Kash speak, Goitia wanted to make a difference by finding a way to aid the refugees.

"Hala and I arrived at a solution: to educate students about the Syrian refugee crisis and show the school that we were in solidarity with Knox in creating a scholarship for Syrian refugee students, in order to provide long-term collegiate education," said Goitia. "That's when our end goal changed—we wanted not only to unite the dance clubs on campus, but to unite the dance clubs for a purpose. We were dancing together, moving together, for a reason."

At DanceFest, more than 200 students signed a petition of support for creating a Knox scholarship for Syrian refugees.

"We'd worked so hard in making it happen, and I think that definitely showed in how the Knox community responded," said Goitia.

DanceFest performances received an enthusiastic response, too, with students saying they enjoyed sitting on the lawn of Old Main and watching the different dance groups.

"Dance is a great opportunity to embrace the community we have at Knox," said Avinash Gurung ‘16.

Libby Richmond ‘18 agreed that DanceFest served as a reminder of what it means to be a student at Knox. "Dance can really bring people together. Dance is so cultural, music is so cultural, and being a part of a community where the arts are so important is really valuable," said Richmond.

Cody and Goitia hope that this event is a catalyst to future charity projects within the dance community at Knox. "We loved the idea of dancing for a purpose and using the collective power of the united clubs to inspire change and make a difference," said Cody.