From the streets to The Beach: Visiting L.A. troupe shakes up CSULB dance class

As hip-hop music throbbed throughout the campus Dance Center on Thursday, CSULB dance students twisted their hips, popped and locked their arms and undulated their bodies to the beat alongside five members of the dance troupe Versa-Style Street Dance Company from Los Angeles.

It was part of an Arts for Life workshop organized by the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, which also coordinated workshops in four Long Beach elementary schools with the company earlier this week.

The in-studio program was a rare opportunity for students to learn step-by-step and face-to-face with experienced professionals. Versa-Style will perform on the Carpenter Center main stage Friday night.

"I like how we each got time with each instructor, and we learned how to variate movement - we learned different ways to move," said Sonria Simanski, a first-year dance major. "I didn't really grow up with street dancing, but now that I'm taking it here, I'm starting to like it a lot."

The troupe taught several street dancing moves to about 41 Beach students. In a Q&A session afterwards, Versa-Style shared a slice of the history and culture of street dance.

"They're actually continuing what me and the other street dance instructors are teaching over here," said Ricky Medina, the instructor for Dance 109, one of two classes involved in the workshop. "For them to be coming in and continuing that education that we're already building here, it's really exciting. Versa-Style is the cornerstone of L.A. street dance right now."