Ben
 President

Hi everyone!! I guess I love this society so much that I decided to do a master’s just to run it? I loved being on committee last year and about half way through I thought to myself.. Oh no.. I’m gonna run for president, knowing full well that it was going to be a huge challenge - little did I know we’d have a whole pandemic to include in that! Despite that I’m excited to be your President this year and, together with my committee, we will be doing our absolute best to have this society as active and enjoyable as it always is! As President, I will be overseeing pretty much everything that goes on and I look forward to getting to know as many of you as possible!

As someone who once used to call the River Thames home, I tried in my first year to join the boat club and quickly was reminded why I stopped rowing in the first place; it was a couple give it a go dance classes and one audition later and before I knew it I was sucked into Dance Society. I know exactly what it’s like to be completely new to dance and so I hope to see plenty of inexperienced dancers also finding their feet and falling in love with all the different styles. Street classes have been an absolute staple for me at uni, but I’ve been so fortunate to be in hip hop teams and a jazz piece which have been such a highlight. Find me with three spreadsheets open in the student centre or wandering around campus looking for new rehearsal spaces and feel free to say hi whenever!!!

Siân
Treasurer

Hi guys!! I’m Siân, a third and final year Human Sciences student and I am really excited about being Dance Society’s Treasurer this year! I started taking ballet lessons at the age of two and since then I have picked up some musical theatre, jazz, and my absolute favourite, contemporary. As Treasurer, I will be responsible for the budget and all things finance for the society, as well as producing Freshers’ Show (if corona allows). You can usually find me camped out in the IOE trying to manically finish essays between dance rehearsals or else shaking in the student centre cafe after my fifteenth espresso. 

Joining Dance Society in my first year was by far my best decision I’ve made at UCL. I have had the opportunity to perform, choreograph, produce and compete for Dance Soc and it has always been a total joy. I am constantly amazed by the talent that I see everyday in my fellow members and I have made some of my all time best friends in this society. My favourite aspect of Dance Soc is Comps, probably due to me being an unhealthily competitive person :)) I really look forward to meeting our new members, whether digitally or in person, and I hope you will love Dance Soc as much as I do!

Chloe
​Vice President

Helloo!! I'm Chloe & I’ll be your vice president this year. I’m in my third year studying biochem but I spend most of my time procrastinating with dance soc. 
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Not having done any dance before Uni, joining dance soc in first year was one of the best decisions I’ve made. Everyone in the society is so welcoming & I may be biased, but if you’re thinking of trying out dance for the first time, I can’t recommend it more! I started out by going to ballet classes, but I've branched out over the last couple of years to try different styles. My favourite is tap (much to the joy of my family & neighbours during lockdown) but catch me attempting to take as many different classes as possible. Being part of dance soc has been one of the highlights of my time at UCL. I've made so many great friends and honestly can’t imagine my uni experience without it. I hope we can make this year as good as possible for you.​

I can usually be found drinking coffee and stressing about deadlines in the student centre so if you spot me please say hi!!

Lyn
​Bloomsbury Producer

Hellooo! It me Lyn or Yong Lyn or Yongs (yes I answer to all 3 :p), a third year bioprocessing student but more importantly your Bloomsbury producer for the year! I can’t wait to organise the show despite these worrying and uncertain times so please do look out for the amaze production! (cross fingers it will still take place)

I started dancing since (relatively) young, mainly in ballet and contemporary and continued to do so in high school. I did stop for a couple years, making my body a squeaky robot but dance is life so why not join dance soc in uni! Upon joining dance soc I have attempted jazz and potato my way into street and hip hop. Dancing on stage has been one of my life’s greatest enjoyment, so now I’m here to share this experience of dancing on stage with everyone else! If you ever spot me on campus it’ll likely be at the student centre stressing at my laptop screen or in IOE waiting for some dance things to happen :> Though corona happened which means I’m in my cave more often than campus, if you see me do say hi or smile or wave or roll on the floor (I’ll try not to judge because rolling on the floor is me), I promise I’m not that serious and don’t bite! (◜◡◝)

Alara
Liaison Officer

Hey everyone! I’m Alara, your liaison officer next year. I’m a 2nd year Psychology student but I probably will be attending more DanceSoc classes than my actual lectures. This year I will be making sure that you have the best experience in weekly classes and the most fun in our diverse workshops thanks to the great teachers that we have chosen for you. And hopefully I will be producing the class showcase in term 2 so that you guys can show off what you’ve been learning throughout the year. 

My journey with dance started a long time before DanceSoc when I started doing ballet when I was 3. Since I’ve come to uni I’ve started to explore contemporary dance and am looking forward to trying out hiphop next year. I‘ve always said that the best feeling in the world is butterflies in your stomach right before you walk out on stage. When I’m not dancing you can find me... (I spent about an hour trying to think about something else that’s interesting to write here but never managed to find anything, I guess dancing it is :) )

As a fairly new member of DanceSoc I can say that my first year would not have been the same without the experiences and people that I have come to know through the society. As a person that loves the manic rush of getting ready to go on stage I was really happy that I got to continue that at uni with people who share the same passion as me. I look forward to seeing every beginner and pro next year and hopefully we can make it a great one!!

Roisin
Social Secretary

Hello everyone! I’m Roisin (or Ro) your social sec for this year. I’m a 2nd year History student and love spending more time at dance than at lectures. Although this year won’t be like any other year in terms of socials, I’m looking forward to organising some great events, whether online or in person!
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I’ve been dancing since I was 2 and competed regularly in ballet, tap, jazz and contemporary. UCL’s dance soc & competition team really made my first year and I’ve loved making great friends from all years. The social side of dance soc is just as great as the dancing and whether you’re a beginner or a pro I know we can all have another amazing year!!
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Eve
Communications Officer

Hello and welcome to: Eve, Dance Soc’s very own communications officer for this academic year. I’ll be curating the weekly mailer (that you should all subscribe to please and thank you) and running the society facebook page. If you ever feel the need to drop the society a message, please feel free and it’ll likely be me replying to you. You may know me from being loud in rehearsals or wandering aimlessly around campus searching for a purpose in life; either way I’m always thinking about how to squeeze more dance into my already saturated schedule. I'm a third year biochemistry student and I’ve been dipping my toe into any style this great society has to offer over the last 2 years and now, I get to help look after it ! 

My dance journey began when I was a wee lass at the tender age of 3 and I have not been able to stop since. During school I did the classic ballet, modern and tap combo with a large emphasis on musical theatre and everything showbiz. Since coming to UCL I have been able to try so so much more, realising my true love for everything contemporary and even an occasional dabble into hip hop and street ! My grand wish is to become the avatar, master of all dance styles. As I work towards this goal, I hope to meet many new faces along the way so if you some tall blonde gal wearing dance soc merch and looking confused, come say hello !

Sophie
Publicity & Design Officer

Hi I’m Sophie—your publicity and design officer for this year! I’m responsible for marketing Dance Soc on Instagram (which I hope you all follow) plus all things drawing and designing, including T-shirts, logos and pamphlets for shows. In my first year at UCL, I’ve had the pleasure of being in quite a few shows and even choreographing for Triple Bill. There’s absolutely nothing better than the bonds you form while prepping for a full-house performance, hence I hope to help foster this atmosphere and community through my role. So far I’ve really enjoyed using this role as a creative, stress-relieving outlet!

I’m a second-year BSc Human Sciences student (a small but broad degree spanning Life and Social Sciences), so ,unsurprisingly, I love learning about many things and consider myself a bit of a nerd--in particular with regards to dance. My favourite way of procrastinating is watching dance videos (yes, I am subscribed to 150 dance channels on YouTube—feel free to hit me up for recommendations) and I spend all my extra allowances on watching shows at the Sadler’s Wells and Royal Opera Ballet. I have always loved dancing and started ballet when I was five, but had to slightly put in on the backseat to focus on competitive tennis throughout secondary school and sixth form. For this reason, despite my absolute adoration for contemporary, I am mainly self-taught for it. However, coming to UCL, I’ve gotten to take many professionally-taught classes and learn from some of my mind-bogglingly talented, experienced peers. Most certainly, I had spent more time in rehearsals and dance classes than I ever had in my life last year (which to clarify has been amazing.) If social distancing allows, I hope to dabble further in jazz and street.

If you have any questions for Dance Soc or want to work with us for anything publicity or design related feel free to drop a message on Instagram!

Johara
Tech Officer

Hey! My name is Johara and I’m your tech officer this year. I’m going into my second year of studying Geography with Quantitative Methods ( basically data science for social science) and had a blast being part of dance soc in my first year. I particularly enjoyed dancing and choreographing for Triple Bill last year and highly recommended signing up for it if you have the time. 

Dance became a big part of my life when I was in middle school and unwillingly got dragged to a dance class by a friend. Since then I have been hooked and have tried myself in just about any dance style I could find a class for ( I’m hoping to try out tap and wacking this year). Over the years, I’ve probably spent most of my time dancing contemporary and modern but recently hip hop and street have been my favorites. Prior to dancing, I was doing gymnastics for a few years so I’ve got a bit of a weak spot for tumbling and acrobatics too. If you haven’t danced before, I really can’t recommend giving it a go enough!

With Covid-19 things will be running a little differently than they usually would, but I’ll do my best from the tech side of things to make Dance Soc classes and events as accessible as possible. I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can and dancing with you at UCL( if social distancing allows). See you soon, and feel free to get in touch with me if you have questions regarding videos on our YouTube channel, website content, or you just want to say hi!

May Yi
Scheduling Officer

Hi everyone!! I’m May Yi, your scheduling officer for the year! I’m a 2nd year Chemistry student but I tend to spend more time dancing than I do on my actual degree. As scheduling officer, my role is to book rooms for your rehearsals and to arrange your rehearsal schedules so that they don’t clash with one another.

I started dancing ballet and contemporary when I was in primary school but lost interest and gave it up when I was 14. Thankfully, I found my passion for dance in hip-hop and I’ve stuck with it ever since! When I’m not dancing, you can find me camped out at the Science Library or Student Centre writing my lab reports. Before uni, I had spent my whole life in Singapore, so coming to London was equal parts terrifying and exciting. Joining Dance Soc in first year made my transition much less scary: I’ve made amazing friends and met so many talented people. Dance Soc has also exposed me to so many different styles of dance: I spent most of first year trying out street, contemporary and a little bit of break. This year I plan on trying out more contemporary classes (if social distancing permits…), so if you see someone attempting (and failing) to do a pirouette, come say hi!

Chenchen
Welfare Officer

To all my favourite bbs & the ones that are about to become. This is Chenchen, your welfare officer, in charge of helping you to make the most out of the best society you can ever expect from Uni. ( Yes we make lifelong friends at Dance Soc) Also I will be arranging all the volunteering activities in the upcoming school year ;)

My dance experience could be traced back to when 1M choreography bombarded social media. Unfortunately, the 15 year old me  was not satisfied with the neither sexy nor confident figure inside the mirror. Finding our own dance style is an uneasy journey, which is perfectly understandable. That’s the reason why we embrace you to dance society, where different dancers at a wide range of levels collapse. I would say my personal style is new school hiphop, but at dance soc I got the chance to participate in fusion, vogue, even contemporary ( if a bad back flip counts). Though the format next term might slightly differ, I can’t wait to introduce you to the place which I call home 🏠