It’s the night of Winter Formal. Your date is standing beside you on the dance floor. Your favorite song comes on. You want to impress him/her, but there is one slight problem. You have ZERO clue how to dance without sending them running for the door.

Lucky for you, senior Richard Ortiz-Luis has recently founded the Project Wings club, giving you a chance to learn a few moves before you hit the dance floor.

“There wasn’t a hip hop dance club [at SMCHS], and since it is a short drive for me, my thought was that I could just walk over here and help people as often as I can in order to successfully teach them the art of hip hop dance,” Ortiz-Luis said.

Ortiz-Luis has been dancing since he was 8 years old. He began by taking some basic choreography classes and then transitioning into more contemporary styles. Finally, he was introduced to his true love: hip hop.

“Once I started hip hop, it was super awesome,” Ortiz-Luis said. “I just starting learning some formations and foundation. The summer of my junior year, when I applied to become a choreographer for Movement Lifestyle in Long Beach, changed it all. In that instance, dance became less of a hobby and more of a passion.”

So what exactly triggered Ortiz-Luis to come up with such a club on campus?

“I first had the idea back in middle of junior year seeing that no student-run program up to this date had been hip hop,” Ortiz-Luis said. “I decided along with the director of dance at SMCHS, [Jill] Schroeder, to make a fun club that would introduce hip hop to everyone interested”

Good news: you need absolutely NO dance experience to join the club. The club’s main goal is to establish a foundation of hip hop for new dancers.

“Basically what I am going to do is start off by dedicating some time to teaching some hip hop ‘foundation’ which is known by choreographers as the basis of all hip hop,” Ortiz-Luis said. “I also am hoping to set aside a few motivated individuals who are interested in learning some ‘concept’ which means much more advanced moves.”

In regard to future plans for the club, Ortiz-Luis has been working with the choreographers at three nearby high schools that have dance clubs — Dana Hills, Capistrano Valley and West Covina — in hopes of establishing some competitions for their members.

If you are interested in joining the club, please email Ortiz-Luis at [email protected] or [email protected]. Also, keep checking the daily announcements for information regarding club meetings and special events that are coming up. Meetings are usually in the dome.