Hip hop hooray

Senior Richard Ortiz-Luis shares his burning passion for dance with SMCHS.

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.

Richard Ortiz- Luiz

“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.

Dedication - Ortiz-Luis desires to share his love for the art of dance.
Kiera Makowecki
Dedication – Ortiz-Luis desires to share his love for the art of dance.

“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.