Temple University is home to students of many ethnicities, cultures, expressions, and interests. There are a variety of student-run organizations where self-expression and cultural connection are fostered and encouraged. One way to express oneself is through movement and rhythm: dancing. On campus, there are many dance organizations such as the Irish Dance Team, Reflections Dance Company, Temple Swing Dance, and many others. These dance groups range from performing competitively to recreational dancing, but one thing is always a commonality: friendship building.
Meet Leyla Marusa, a senior double majoring in audio and live entertainment and theater, while also being the president of Reflections Dance Company (RDC). She has been dancing competitively since she was younger and wanted to continue maintaining her relationship with dance in university. Having been drawn to RDC her freshman year, she now gets to choreograph her own dances for competitions, as she approaches graduation this May.
“I spent time researching dance organizations on campus and immediately felt drawn to RDC. Being part of RDC has allowed me to keep doing what I love while building new friendships that already feel like family,” Marusa said. “We perform at least twice a year. Our group emphasizes the unity that dance brings to a community.”
Kat Bullock and Nathaniel Chen are also both in the final year of their undergraduate degrees. They both joined dance teams in their junior year and have been having a blast being exposed to new people, experiences, and gaining comfort and confidence whilst having fun.
Bullock is a speech, language, and hearing sciences student with a certificate in ASL and linguistics. She joined the Irish Dance Team with no prior dance experience after seeing how kind and social the tabling members were at Temple Fest. Since joining, she has competed at the Irish Dance Competition at Villanova on Nov. 16th and at various bars and events near Temple’s campus. They will also be performing at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in March.
“I joined because I wanted to learn new skills and be physically active while also being social and working as a team, so it was perfect. Also, I am Irish and… I thought it would be a cool and enriching way to connect to my ancestors,” Bullock said.
Chen, a biochemistry major, is the current Vice President of Temple Swing Dance. Swing Dance is an African American Jazz vernacular dance, and through the years it has been modified, expanded, and experimented with, being influenced by many cultures. Chen joined Temple Swing Dance in the fall of 2024 because of its prior president, Katie Neary, a third-year student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies, saxophone performance, and a minor in public relations and Spanish. While he was studying abroad in Oviedo, Spain, he witnessed her ability to dance with people from halfway across the world with the basics of swing dancing, and was inspired to learn too.
“We teach and socially dance with Lindyhop and West Coast Swing dance. With improvisational dance such as lindyhop, a lot of performance is overcoming nerves and just letting yourself flow,” Chen said. “I have been able to mostly ignore my anxiety and just dance, but it definitely took time and practice.”
Dance is more than just moving. It requires rhythm, connection, energy, stamina, spatial awareness, and control, while also staying loose. A dance team can be one way for people to meet friends, but also a great way to increase the visibility of different cultures. From the various types of music to the different styles of dance itself, there are plenty of opportunities at Temple University.