The East Asian Style and Dance Club’s first meeting on Nov. 2 provided MSMS students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in cultures from East Asia. Students were invited by club President Menghan Xiang to explore East Asian culture through the universal language of dance by learning choreography to NewJeans’ “Super Shy” together. 

The meeting began with elections for officer positions in the club. Some positions were already filled: Xiang and fellow juniors Joey Knight and Clara Boykin serve as the club’s president, vice president and historian, respectively. However, the secretary and treasurer positions were open to voting. Members elected junior Lee Faul as treasurer and junior Brianna Trotter as secretary. 

Trotter said she was excited to be involved with a group of like-minded students.

“I’ve had to cover up my interests [in the past], and here I don’t have to,” Trotter said. 

After the election, the club practiced its first dance to the song “Super Shy” by K-pop group NewJeans. Club members learned the song’s fast-paced choreography with Xiang and Knight as instructors. 

“I found it really fun,” junior Cratin Quinnelly said. “I was glad we did it as a group to let out stress, and I feel like we formed a sense of community.” 

Franco Lopes, the club’s sponsor, lived in Japan for 20 years. He said he decided to sponsor the club to open doors for MSMS students to expand their studies into topics involving East Asian countries while also forming a community. 

“One of the things about this school is that we have a lot of cultures…and I think this club helps people to [look past] those things and just become friends,” Lopes said.

Xiang, who is Chinese, said she was excited to share some aspects of her own identity in the newly formed club.

“I love American culture and also Chinese culture,” Xiang said. “[I created the club] to let more students come together to learn or coach or do some fun things together.”

Xiang said she has big plans for the club’s future and hopes to teach students about both traditional and modern dances through presentations and lessons. She also said she’s open to exploring the possibility of a future performance to the student body.

“Our plan is to learn dances from different cultures so we can combine the dances together and perform them next semester,” Xiang said.