A Peek Into Modern Dance in FSA by Taylor Anzaldua

The Filipino Student Association, FSA, is a very active organization on campus.  Whether they’re fundraising, hosting community events, participating in sports, or even dance, they are constantly trying to foster a friendly environment and inform the community about Filipino culture in the Valley and the world at large!

No, you don’t have to be Filipino to join.

Today, we’re honing in on their dance sector! More specifically, Modern.

LEADERSHIP & EXPERIENCE

Is this your first time leading workshops? What’s your position in Modern?

Nay (Modern Director): My position right now is Modern Director- co-directing- with John and Josef. Right now, yeah, it was my first time teaching workshops and my first time teaching for competition and making choreo for competition.

When did you become a director for Modern?

Nay (Modern Director): So, we had an open interest form, and I was, of course, already like 6 months in in FSA, and I was like, yeah, why not, and John was also kind of pressuring me, like, hey, you should do it, you should do it-you’re good. And I wanted to do it more because I knew it would be helpful for the team to have more variety of styles, not just be like “Modern, Modern;” like maybe explore more hip hop, locking, waacking, you know, breaking, yeah, all those styles. So I was like, yeah, why not? It will be fun. And yeah, that’s why I decided to be Modern Director in FSA.

How do you feel now that you’re leading workshops with Modern?

Nay (Modern Director): At first, I remember the 1st song that I taught my 1st choreo in the workshop, I was really nervous because I knew there were going to be people that were not in FSA. And I was nervous because what would they think about my choreo? Sometimes it happens for dancers that the choreo is way too beginner, and sometimes it depends on your mood and the mindset you go into class with. But for some people, they're not in that type of mindset of, yeah, let's learn; they're in the mindset of, oh, this is boring because this is beginners. So I was nervous that they were going to think that, but they didn’t, and they did like it.

How does your approach to teaching differ between FSA members and dancers you're less familiar with?

Nay (Modern Director): In FSA, of course, I know them; in Modern, I know them all. So, teaching to friends is fun; you don’t overthink about what they're going to think because you know they’re going to like it. And for other people that I don’t know, I like it. I like to teach them because, of course, I learn new things. For example, if a new person that comes to class or workshops maybe asks, I don’t know, not to repeat the step, but like, "hey, what about this arm, where does it go?" that’s another question I’m used to. So, it’s learning new stuff for me to improve as a teacher, and now that I know that that question exists, I will also implement it in my further choreos and when I’m teaching.

MODERN EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

What are you most excited about this year for Modern? (Competitions, hangouts, practices, events?)

Ari (Modern Member, FSA Vice President):The trips. I’d say the entire experience of going to a competition. So not just performing, but going there with everyone and having time to hang out in the area of the competition. But also, the competition itself.

Jaz (Modern Member): I’m pretty excited for upcoming practice and seeing myself improving.

Nay (Modern Director): Hangouts. I love now that I’m more near to FSA, I have more time, and now that I’m modern director, of course I hang out more with them, and I like that-at least with the modern team-they are all like a family; they are all together. Like, if you need something, they can help you; we can help you. We are always there for our modern team. Yeah, I like competing; I like showcasing-it’s really fun, of course, doing all the practices, seeing each other almost every day- but it's more fun behind the scenes of competing, like little talks that we have, little hangouts that we have before practicing or after practicing, or practice itself. Little moments that are just wholesome in a certain way. You start seeing them as more than friends, like more like a family.

Ellie (Modern Member, FSA Vice President): Isang cause it’s our first time performing. It’s our first time performing there in fourteen years. Before we would just watch. I like watching all the performances and the dances.  It’s open to all FSAs, literally anybody. The tickets are open to the public, but the performers are from different FSAs.

Ellie (Modern Member, FSA Vice President): We always perform at GOODPHIL; there was one year we didn’t. GOODPHIL is like the Olympics of FSA. We compete against all the FSAs in Texas and Oklahoma in the sports and dances that we offer. It’s a 4-day event. There’s an order, and each year they go through the list. This year it’s at UH, University of Houston.

How have y’all performed in years prior? How do past performances impact how you move forward? What have you learned?

Ari (Modern Member, FSA Vice President): You learn from- I guess for me the biggest thing is the emotions because you feel a lot of emotions going up and performing; you get nervous, you get excited, you can be in flow state and be confident too. You learn to live and really feel the emotions- be one with it. In terms of something objective, you can look back at them because they’re all recorded. You can use that too to improve your performance”

Jaz (Modern Member): Our first one was pretty stress-free because we had a lot of time. We just poured our hearts into it. The second one was pretty stressful because we were short on time. We were like all over the place.

Ellie (Modern Member, FSA Vice President): We always get judges' feedback; we always watch the videos, and look for what we can do better. We always try to do more than we did the year before, even if we thought we did well.

JOYS AND BENEFITS

How has an organization like FSA helped you in times of struggle?

Ellie (Modern Member, FSA Vice President): It’s a good getaway from my problems. The bonds--the activities we do. It’s a good way to find friends. There are a lot of members; you’re bound to find someone you’re gonna bond with. It’s a good break from academics. I’ve been a part of FSA for 4 years. My best friend was in FSA. She would bring it up and tell me that there was a Modern team and in dance, modern means contemporary, so I was like, okay. You don’t have to be an experienced dancer; we're very beginner-friendly. The dances are a little challenging, but they’re beginner-friendly in the way where we slow it down and help you out.

Ari (Modern Member, FSA Vice President): Having people around to share the times when I’m not struggling. It’s a lot easier with people to get through whatever it is that you're going through at the time.

Nay (Modern Director): I think that sometimes when I'm feeling down or “oh, I wish I could hang out with someone” and I'm on campus and I want to be with friends but most of my friends are busy, I know that there’s going to be someone in FSA on campus. I remember it was more in the last semester that we would hang out almost every day in the library, like, literally every day. At least two people in FSA were in the library, and we would hang out in Chick-fil-A and do homework together. And now, this semester, at least for me, or I think everyone is really busy, but we still make time to hang out. It really sometimes helps me because I think for FSA, I don’t really need social battery life to be with them. I don’t need to be talkative all the time, or I don’t need to put in a lot of effort to be there. I know that if we’re just there in silence, we’re going to be good.

What would you tell someone who is yet to get involved in an organization?

Ari (Modern Member, FSA Vice President): I’d say go for it because it really shaped my years going through university. When I first started, I felt like I didn’t have a place to be or anything to do. And well, I found my place, I guess, but I kind of forced it. And it was at the rec. So, that was my community for a while, but I never really felt involved because they also have a club, but I never really involved myself with them. And then I found FSA because of my interest in dancing. And then with dancing with FSA came the community that FSA has and the dancing community adjacently to it. Yeah, so finding an org really helps you find your place. Like not only for yourself but like in the universe.

Nay (Modern Director): I think to just go for it. Like I always tell my friends “are you in a student org?” Not to join FSA, but more to recommend joining a student org. It’s a very hard experience in college; people should definitely do it, even if they're like “eh maybe.” Go for it, go for it, totally go for it.

Arthur (Modern Member, FSA Treasurer): Honestly, I would say… okay, it's kinda cringy, but I would say just do it. It’s one of those things where, at least I've learned over the years because I've been in multiple student orgs and sometimes they didn’t work out; sometimes they do. And it's just one of those things where it's like, just show up, see if you like it, and if you do, you like it. Like, that’s really all you can really say where it’s like, just show up, and sometimes you'll meet new friends, and sometimes you'll meet people you don’t vibe with. And as long as you're just like shooting randomly at a dartboard, sometimes you hit a bullseye; sometimes you don’t. Yeah, so it’s like literally there’s no harm in just pulling up, see if you like it, and if you don’t, then oh well.

How has your experience in FSA been so far?

Arthur (Modern Member, FSA Treasurer): laughs I’ve enjoyed it. Most of my experience in FSA has been as an officer, but you know, officer stuff is a little stressful. Yeah, but that’s just because you have responsibility. You gotta make sure that stuff can happen, right? But, just like seeing the members enjoy the activities that we do for them and not even just that, but like participating in these activities, getting to know people in like sports and dance, it's just like… okay, Filipinos are very big on community, and I never really understood that until I joined FSA. Like, it's one of those things where I was like, oh, I see all the Filipinos gathering and it's like okay, it's whatever. But now that I’m a Filipino gathering, I’m like, no, I get it, I get it.

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About the Author

Hi, there! My name is Taylor Anzaldua, and I’m a second-year here at UTRGV. I’ve always had a passion for the arts, whether that be dance, music, drawing, painting, photography, film, design... you name it. I think it’s wonderful to be able to find a community you mesh with and enjoy while simultaneously being able to partake in activities you equally enjoy- that was kind of my base point when starting this article. In writing this, I hope someone can become a little more informed or interested in FSA, and organizations at large. Go find your people and place in the world!