Written by Rut Labrada, Staff Writer 

VSU’s National Honor Society for Dance Arts (NSHDA) hosted a Broadway Tap class on Jan. 24 at the University Center. 

The class is one of many weekly extracurricular dance classes that the NHSDA chapter offers to students every semester. 

NHSDA President and senior dance major, Carlene Fults, came up with the idea of weekly classes. “Me and my friend, Emma McGuffey, started them back in 2024, simply because we wanted more dance in our lives,” said Fults. “So, we decided to start these classes—they’re student run, student led—so that the students get an opportunity to dance more, but also so that students learn to teach dance”. 

While most of the classes are student-taught, the NHSDA occasionally invites VSU dance professors to teach students so that students can connect with and learn from professionals. 

This week’s class, taught by VSU professor and NHSDA adviser Sarah Arnett, gave the students an opportunity to learn tap steps and combinations that often appear in professional choreographies on Broadway. 

During the class, Arnett taught the students a one-minute-long combination of her own creation to the song “A Little Versatility” from BOOP! The Musical, a Broadway comedy based on the beloved animated character, Betty Boop. 

According to Arnett, “We try and offer classes that are outside of what is often taught in our normal classrooms … So, they get creative. Last night they had a country line dance class. Today we did a Broadway style tap. Sometimes we’ll hit the usual things that we have in the curriculum, but it’s just more open and less restricted so that any student can come and take it.” 

The weekly classes are free for anyone interested in learning more about different dance styles or just looking for an energizing start to their day. 

 “We want anybody who has ever been involved in dance to come to our classes just to have fun,” said Fults.“Because sometimes, a lot of dancers experience their senior recital and then they’re done dancing, but there’s so much more to learn after their senior recital, so we encourage all dancers from all majors to come to our classes.” 

For Dance and Theatre majors, the classes are also a wonderful opportunity to gain experience in different branches of dance. 

 “It’s so important to dive into many different things because you never know where your career’s going to take you and having a bit of everything,” said Fults. “That is something that VSU is very good at, thanks to these classes”. Fults mentioned that students are able to add the experience to their resume which, she says, can “often take you from getting the job to not getting the job.” 

For Dance and Theatre majors, the classes are also a wonderful opportunity to gain experience in different branches of dance. 

As these classes continue to take off, the NHSDA members are looking to find more members to join the classes and have fun dancing. For more information, follow the NHSDA team on Instagram @nhsdavsu.