Communicating Through Dance To Break Cultural Barriers

Green River Community College offers clubs that are able to bring different people together.

Some of the different communities at Green River include people from LGBTQ, different religions, and a wide variety of cultures. Several diverse clubs exist in order to celebrate the variety of the student body; their existence benefits the social society at Green River.

It’s widely known that Green River is home to an abundance of students, those who are domestic and those who come to study internationally. Coming to an unknown area and creating new experiences may be difficult for some students. However, clubs at Green River are a primary method to prevent feelings of segregation. Clubs create bonds that break barriers that are felt between domestic and foreign students. Clubs can help students break out of their shells; they are a great form of interaction and communication between people.

The introduction of diverse cultures can create new and exciting bonds between community members. Green River clubs can often be a meeting between two cultures; the international students and the domestic. It allows there to be room for new relationships and learning experiences.

When two very different individuals collide, learning each other’s differences is bound to happen. It is a great opportunity to learn about how one culture differs from another. Simply speaking, being in a club exposes an individual to many different kinds of people. With the introduction of a wide variety of students, the chances of two people relating to each other increases dramatically.

Even with the opportunities presented by clubs, however, there are students who continue to struggle creating friendships on campus. By overcoming fears of rejection, progress in different relationships is bound to be made.

“I’m always too afraid to go to the studio,” Britney Gitonga, a local student, said. “Everyone is already in groups, I’m too shy.”

In response to Gitonga’s concerns, Joseph Vallespin, a current dance club member replied, “All you have to do is dance, and someone will notice you and [you’ll] become friends- just like that.”

A difference in culture also introduces a difference in language. Rather than this being off putting, as it may initially seem, some clubs view language as an opportunity for different forms of communication.

Clubs at times have universal languages, such as music or dance. Many may immediately disagree, claiming that dancing and music cannot be considered as a language. However, dance consists of body movements in time to a beat of a song. Anyone can do it; nobody has to be good at dancing to know how.

Of course, the lack of confidence people have in certain abilities may deter them from joining different clubs. However, in areas such as the dance community, the atmosphere suggests that the skill levels of members is irrelevant. A person can always learn new skills. 

Green River has a diverse dance club. Some members may not know how to speak a certain language fluently in order to understand one another. However, through body movements, dance is comprehensible and can be easily followed by those who want to participate. Revealing a common interest in clubs becomes a great base to build off to create friendships.

“That feeling, when you can comfortably walk into the dance studio,” Michael Batin, another Green River dance member, said. “You feel at home because everyone enjoys what they’re doing. We’ve become family.”
Much like the bond between family members, the relationship that is formed between two club members can last a lifetime. The diversity of clubs encourages members to speak with people that they would be able to chat with that they wouldn’t have otherwise had an opportunity to meet.

The new students that gain the opportunity to meet through their common community can also gain a companion outside of the campus itself. Through clubs, not only have they made friends that are helpful between classes, but also people to talk with when classes are finished.

These clubs can be a new experience for the internatonal or newly attending students. Green River’s community to some is an entirely new world. Many students even come to Green River’s Auburn campus from Kent and can’t help but be overwhelmed by how large it is.

One domestic student that recently moved to the Auburn campus from the Kent campus, Maleeha Nizar said how she “thought the Kent campus was large and confusing, but coming to the Auburn campus just shows how wrong [she] was.”

If a student that lives here, who is already used to the area, can be overwhelmed by such a spacious campus, one can only wonder how affected foreign students must be. Clubs help reduce that feeling of being unprepared. They provide a group of people that could very well be experiencing the same culture shock. Clubs also help provide a comfortable environment to share lifestyles and experiences together.

The dependency some foreign students have on their domestic peers can help form bonds between them. Additionally, domestic students have the opportunity to learn something new. Working together, these students can then rely on one another, creating a rope between them of trust and reliability.

Clubs benefit students in breaking down different cultural barriers and allowing room for new experiences.