A question was posed to those sitting last Friday on the newly polished floors of Warner Main: why choose to dance at Oberlin College? Certainly there couldn’t be much happening at a place where tickets cost $2 and the most utilized performance space is a converted gymnasium. Why come to Ohio when there are Julliard, UCLA and NYU Tisch?

Fairly quickly the answer unfolded, excitement building as first-year through senior learned about the prospects ahead.

Modern technique classes, contact improvisation jams, Jazz ExCo, Tap ExCo, Swing ExCo, Oberlin Dance Company, student run performances, world-renowned choreographers,Dance Diaspora... the list goes on and on. This year’s informational dance meeting left no doubt that Oberlin is a great place to be a dancer.

“The Oberlin Dance department is really diverse, but it is also really small,” said senior Rachel Winograd, who spent the previous year studying dance in London. This is true until one considers all the projects and groups that exist beyond the course offerings.

VIBE is an outlet for jazz and tap (two forms not taught through the College) that was started by students in 1996. Both a company and an ExCo (taught by junior and senior members), beginning and intermediate/advanced classes are open to students.

“Great things come out of them,” Associate Professor of Dance Nusha Martynuk exclaimed, citing the previous year’s sold out show.

For anyone who has enjoyed being dragged drunkenly by their mother into jitterbugging at a family function, the people at OSWING offer ample opportunities to learn some new moves. Besides the highly coveted ExCo there are Saturday night dances at Hales, trips to Cleveland and workshops with professionals. Halloween weekend, Evin Galang and OC grad Andrew Twiss will lead the event.

And What!?, the hip-hop and educational troupe on campus, holds auditions every semester (Sept. 18, 12-2 p.m. and Sept. 19, 7-9 p.m.) for new dancers. “We wish to use graffiti, breaking, emceeing and deejaying as educational tools to educate the Oberlin and outside community on Hip-Hop events,” explained Alesha Washington, a current member.

Yukiko Shishikura, an international student, is currently working with Dance Diaspora to create a senior show. Using video installations, sound pieces and video, she will integrate stories of Japanese oppression with the African Diaspora. Dance Diaspora, Ilu Aiye and Japanese students and staff will take part in the performance, which will take place Nov. 5 and 6.

If you can’t get enough dance that weekend, Diaspora is followed by Fell, a student- organized event that lasts one night only. Unlike Fall Forward, there are no auditions, as people from all walks of Oberlin life are invited to participate. For those prepared to step in front of faculty, auditions for the latter occur on Oct. 11 with performances on Dec. 2-4.

Want more than student dance? How about Bebe Miller? On Oct. 9, Miller is explaining the choreographic process and her life as an artist, having danced with Alvin Ailey Reparatory Ensemble and received two Bessies for performance. Kristin Horrigan, who taught contact improvisation at Oberlin in 2002, will lead an improvisation group on Nov. 14. Simone Forti is conducting a two-week Winter Term on “Moving the Telling,” incorporating storytelling with dance. Meredith Monk, a multidisciplinary artist known for site-specific work and whose music can be heard in The Big Lebowski (among other esteemed credits), is teaching a weeklong intensive in the spring.

Still think there isn’t any dance at Oberlin? Keep your eyes peeled, there are more events coming. And Warner? It’s the building behind King. Check it out — it’s there for a reason.