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Dance at UCI

Coming to UCI, I had no idea how big of a deal dance was. With two left feet, joining a dance team was the last thing on my list but I’ve learned so so much about the UCI dance community in the last couple weeks and would love to share it with you guys.

During week 0 the teams held workshops to teach their choreography and promote auditions. I went to a couple of the workshops with my friends and even though I can’t dance, it was fun to get out of my comfort zone and meet some amazing people. That was my first taste of the dance community followed by ALL UCI 8.

At ALL UCI, the major dance teams like Urban Motus, MCIA, Kaba Modern, CADC showcased one of their pieces and I was literally amazed by how they’re so precise and passionate about dance. Watch this video of Common Ground’s piece, it’s insane. There were also 3 v 3 dance battle and that got so heated so fast. You could feel their energy around the room as we were mesmerized by their movements.

As the quarter started, the teams started their audition weeks. It varies from team to team, but generally, the team holds a week workshops to teach their audition pieces. I swear I never saw my dance friends before 2 AM during those weeks. Then on audition day, everyone comes to the student center stage and performs the pieces to try to get on the team.

I went to cheer on my friend during his MCIA audition and it was insane. Everyone auditioning has put so much time and effort into learning the pieces and they’re so passionate and energetic, it’s infectious. Based off the performances, the team picks dancers they like to interview and then chooses the people who make the team! (Shout out to my friend Robert who made Urmo!!)

Besides the audition teams, there’s also the KASA freshman dance off. It’s a freshmen only dance team that competes with KASA teams from other schools in this huge event in LA. I thought the auditions were intense but that’s literally child’s play compared to the amount of time and effort people in KASA put in. The week leading up to the competition, they practiced at least 7 PM-5 AM everyday. Every. Single. Day. However, it seemed like a really fun experience and you get to bond with other freshmen dancers too! Everyone makes it since there’s no auditions so this is definitely a cool option if you want to try out dance.

I’m definitely NOT an expert on dance teams, but I can tell the dance culture at UCI is huge. Teams like LVO give people a chance to join a team with no experience and teams like CADC give experienced dancers a place to thrive and show off their skills. No matter what level you are, there’s a dance team for you at UCI. There’s a sense of family you get when you spend twelve hours a week with a group of people that can’t be matched.

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Midterms???

People say the quarter system goes fast, but you have no idea how fast until you experience it. I feel like I just moved in, but we’re already on Week 5! You know what that means? Midterm season!! Woohoo! I actually had my Bio 93 midterm two weeks ago because I have two midterms for that class and I’m cramming for my Chem 1A midterm tomorrow. Keep reading to hear about my crazy midterm experiences!

People have different ways with dealing with midterms. I have friends I haven’t seen since midterm season started because they’re always studying or others just nap through the whole day. Personally, I study in the common room in groups because my loft desk is too dark. (A loft desk is under a bed with only a top bunk so the lights don’t really reach it.) But regardless, midterms mean long late nights of studying (or messing around…).

Midterms destroyed my sleeping schedule. I usually go to sleep around 3 AM and wake up at 8 AM to study. Sounds insane right? Honestly, I’m impressed too because I used to sleep a solid eight to nine hours but my body got used to it. Also, I’m on some alternative clock now because once when I was studying with friends, my friend left to go to sleep. I said “It’s still early!” thinking it was eight, but it was actually midnight. Oops.

But no worries, I have tips for midterms! The first one is to find a study group. Work through the material yourself first and then work with friends to clarify concepts you don’t understand. Bouncing ideas off others and talking through concepts help to understand it. (Tip: If you can explain it to someone else, you know it really well!) Review practice exams because they are super similar to the actual midterm, trust. Review the lecture slides because if your professor took time to go over it in class, it’s important and will probably be on the test. Another thing I did to really make myself focus was delete Facebook and Instagram on my phone because they’re way to distracting for me. I can’t handle endless scrolling, I’ll be there for hours. It’s a little drastic, but so effective.

I can’t stress self care enough! Make sure to take care of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally! You should be your first priority. Take breaks to destress by walking around Middle or Mesa at night. It’s super refreshing to just walk around in the fresh air. Or take advantage of late night and grab something to eat to destress! Make sure to know your own limits and say no to going out if you know you need to study. I love to Facetime my friend at UCSD to catch up because it’s so comforting keep old friendships strong.

Hang in there everyone! Midterms are almost over and I believe in you!

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Hello!

Hi everyone! I’m Nancy Duong and I’m so excited to be writing for the UU Zot Blog! A little bit about me is I’m from Anaheim (Disneyland!) which is about 25 minutes away from UCI.

Although I live close, I really wanted the dorming experience so I’m living in Valimar in Middle Earth. Side note, people say Middle Earth is the worst housing but I honestly don’t mind it. It’s close to classes, especially SSL and ICF, and nice and quiet. There is construction going on right now, so that’s a small hassle, but it doesn’t bother me. And, you can always go visit Mesa if you want too! I do it all the time since most of my friends live in Mesa and it takes about 12 minutes. Then you’ll get your steps in. Fun fact: I average 20,000 steps a day (about 8 miles) and my record so far is 27,034 steps (11.2 miles)! UCI’s campus is huge so you’ll get your exercise in. Especially if you have 10 minute gaps between your classes and sprint across campus like me.

So I actually applied to UCI as UU because I don’t know what I want to do yet, but that’s okay! This quarter I’m taking public health orientated classes: Bio Sci 93, Chem 1A, and Writing 39C. I quickly learned that I hate biology, so public health is not for me, but good thing I’m undeclared so I can take business classes next quarter! Anyways. week 3 came up so fast. Even though I was part of Summer Bridge, I was still thrown off by the quick pace of the quarter system (I have midterms this week!) and the crazy amount of reading for each class. The transition has been a little hectic because it’s so different from high school. I would definitely recommend investing in an agenda because professors will not remind you about assignments! Trust me, I’ve missed two deadlines already… Aside from academics, I’ve joined Mustard Seeds (predominantly Vietnamese Catholic group) and VSA (Vietnamese Student Association) along with going to a few dance workshops. There’s so much going on at UCI, you’’ definitely find something for you. Try something new! I’ve never danced before and have no rhythm, but still had fun at the workshops and met a lot of new people.

I can’t wait to keep sharing my year with you guys so stick around and join me on my first year journey and if you see me around campus please say hi! 🙂