Two new clubs have been added to the Stevenson community: Curls, Kinks and Coils (CKC) club and the Nachde club.
The Curls, Kinks and Coils (CKC) club intends to emphasize and encourage the beauty and flexibility of natural hair in individuals. People sometimes forget to love their natural hair or don’t feel like their hair is good enough to present themselves. Club members believe that in reality, every person has beautiful hair and needs to realize that, regardless of the length, style, texture or color.
“As an organization, our focus is to educate people about the beauty of natural hair and the culture behind it, all while teaching individuals how to maintain beautiful and healthy hair. Although we are natural [hair] focused, we are not natural exclusive, so all hair types are welcomed,” said Phillip Gatling, assistant director of student activities. Students who are interested in this club can join by emailing the club via campus email or visit the club’s table set up in Rockland on Mondays.
Another club on campus that has recently started is the Nachde club. Nachde is a South Asian Bhangra Fusion Dance team that incorporates diversity from India and Pakistan.
“With intricate, fast and vibrant steps, Nachde incorporates both Bollywood and Bhangra-style choreography,” said club president Smruti Hairprakasha.” All are welcome to participate, as it is not a religious-based group, but a great way to get in some good exercise and have fun while doing it,” said Gatling.
Bollywood choreography refers to dance that was “created by combining two names, Bombay (the city now called Mumbai) and Hollywood. Bollywood based in Mumbai (Bombay), is India’s – and the world’s – largest film industry in terms of the number of films produced, and also the number of tickets sold each year,” according to Rhythm-India.com. The style includes elaborate dance sequences that combine the background of India’s many classical and folk dances, combined with elements of Jazz, Hip – Hop, Arabic and Latin dance, according to the same site.
According to the Style section of the William and Mary College website, “Bhangra is the perfect cultural mash-up. This traditional dance from the Punjab region of India is the kind of high-energy, beat-driven, wildly colorful phenomenon that seamlessly absorbs musical influences—dancehall, hip-hop—without losing its roots.”
Hariprakasha says the club welcomes both men and women to join, and is a great way to stay in touch with different cultures at Stevenson. This club was started to combine fun and unique Bhangra steps and will impact the university by symbolizing how this campus celebrates all different types of cultures. Students can join by emailing the club.
