On Sunday, Nov. 17, Dance Extensions hosted its fourth annual DEXT-A-THON, a six-hour marathon of open dance classes for university students and community members. These covered a range of styles and catered to new and old dancers alike.

DEXT president Tyler Benson and treasurer Sophie Creed manned the sign-in table, took down the names of participants, and sold pink shirts and Dance Extensions shirts.

Dance Extensions is Rowan University’s contemporary dance company and one of the longest-running SGA organizations on campus.

“We perform throughout the year and we do service events, and we have rehearsals with our company on the weekends and throughout the week, and on Fridays we hold open classes for all Rowan students,” said Tyler Benson, a senior double major in musical theatre and dance, and DEXT president.

DEXT-A-THON is one such service event the company puts on, an annual day full of dance.

“We first raised money for Project Moshen, which is an all-female dance company in Philadelphia, we raised money for the Arc of Gloucester […] and then this year we’re raising money for breast cancer,” said Benson.

Inside the dance studio, students were learning the Argentinian tango from senior dance student Valentina Giannattasio. She taught various beginner movements used to form the foundations of this style of tango. 

Students would pair off and practice their newfound moves with confidence, and occasional missteps. Even so, people were laughing and having fun putting their all into something that for many, may have been completely new to them.

There are challenges that come from teaching a room full of students a new style of dance, especially one that may come from another country. Giannattasio chose to teach tango because she herself is Argentinian, and wants to bring her culture to the students of Rowan.

“It’s pretty challenging when it’s a new style like tango because nobody has ever done that before,” said Giannattasio. “The body moves differently for each technique, and tango being a partner style, it’s a ballroom style, you also need to trust your partner and follow your partner and move together as one.” 

Giannattasio teaches one tango class every year because even though Rowan has ballroom classes, they focus on styles like salsa rather than tango.

Beyond tango, DEXT-A-THON covered a range of dance styles, rotating teachers each hour. Participants had the chance to learn tango, a musical theatre combination, and choreography taught by Heather DeSanto of Project Moshen from their upcoming show, tap dance, and contemporary dance, and they finished off the night with an improvisation class.

DEXT-A-THON serves as an opportunity for people who may not currently have an outlet for dance to come and learn something new in a low-stakes environment. 

Dalene Arenis, a business major at Stockton University, came to Rowan just to dance with Dance Extensions for DEXT-A-THON. Her friend had invited her last year, and she enjoyed it and chose to come attend this year as well.

“I actually have danced since I was like six, and I stopped going ever since I went to college,” Arenis said. “It’s very friendly, very welcoming, and you learn a lot from it.”

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