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Students Enjoy The Dance Scene

Many students and Lynchburg residents attende salsa dancing

It created an opportunity to meet people in a non-alcoholic,public dance environment

"The best part of salsa dancing was the opportunity that led me to meeting my boyfriend," Jessica Rosey, freshman,said "Iwould have to say it'sthe best place to meet others ina great environment."

Lynchburg Salsa promoted their weekly event on their facebook page. Most of the time,students heard about it through word of mouth.

Wha t started as a salsa dance on Friday night at the Drowsy Poet, turned into a weekly event held at the dance theatre in downtow n Lynchburg.

"Iheard about it because some of my dorm mates were talking about it," Rosey said She started going and eventually met her boyfriend, PiliPilar, who had been going for a couple weeks with friends from his church.

Freshman Erica Propps enjoyed going to this event becauseit offered a clean and fun way to dance and have fun.

"It'sfun to dance and not bump and grind," Propps said "Itisa better alternative than clubbing and it issuch a good environment."

Propps did not only like the dancing but she also liked the cultural experience Itbecame a way for her to practice her Spanish with other Spanish-speaking people.

"It'sculturally different than what I'm used to,"Propps said. "Iget to practice my Spanish,dance and meet new people."

"Ilove going salsa dancing. Alotof my friends andI go andit'sfun and burnscalories I alsolovegoing tubingdown the James River in thesummer with friends." -Kryst Odegaard,SR

"Ilovegoingto thedollartheater and alsogoing toBuffaloWild Wings towatch football." -Sierra Clearwater,SO

"Ihave been learning how tosalsadance attheweekly Fridaynight salsanights downtown It's a greatplaceto go offcampus toletlooseand haveablastwith yourfriends With over100 peoplethere each night, there arealways new peopletomeet all whilelearning how todance salsa. Everyone should give it a tryat least once." -Joeseph Quinn,Graduate Student

"Thedance ministryI am a partof, Dead on Awakening (DOA),uses hiphop dance tospreadthe gospel We participate in everything from outreach eventstodance competitions. Spontaneously breakingout intodancewith them isone ofmy favorite thingsto do.

Wal-Mart, 7-11, Sheetz, IHOP, and countless parkinglots havealready tastedourbeat drivenimpulses." -Edward

delos Reyes,SR

"My friends and I have board game marathons, cook giganticdinners foreveryone and continue ourquestto watchevery scarymovieever made." -Jordan

Harvey,JR

"Iliketoenjoy my timeaway fromschool at 'AllFiredUp' paintingstudio inForestwhere I canpaint pottery, relax and escapethe currentstress I'mdealing with. Thenin two weeksafter theyhaveglazed my pottery, I pickitup and it lookslikea professional haspainted it." -Katie

Crutchfield,SR

"I haveattended Zumba classesat DanceCreations inWyndhurst. Itwas a lotof fun meeting theothergirls, learninghow to salsaand getting a greatworkout intoo Also, the MuseCoffee Company isone ofmy favorite placestogoto relax, hang out withfriendsor study Thecoffee is great, the music isalways topnotchand theambianceis stellar." -Sarah

Blanzy,SR

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BUR ij^i^HilHil student sec is on their feet cheering u-. , fPPlMft'r•^^1 "season. w e have a blast doing our show in Williams Stadium' It's so; exciting to be a part of the gam e and to get the students involved in our music Whe n the band plays "Hey Baby" the students are always there singing along and the energy it creates is phenomenal."

-Derek Via, Head Dru m gelMfry-excitecl. Pmkham , SWe is not an- • ipe'r feeling like W\n the wMeM * ?"world. Playing in front of upvv. of 18,000 pe is an amazing a feeling Gam e day is very hectic and/busy but w e kno w that we ' have, to bring our best to the field because'our goal in the end is to have a crowd on their feet cheering for us That tells us that our hard work wa s worth every second."

-Katie Marvel, JR ^S Ro W HMBSS" y'The energy T tfyou get from 'the cheers of our students is incredible, and 1 iTiakes m e warn to do m y bffst performing."

-AmyGoins , SR ' A

The sounds of brass,woodwind, drum and percussion instruments reverberated through the stadium After months ofpractice, theSpirit ofthe Mountain moved acrossthe field, cutting in an out offormation as they executed the intricate drill

"The band is composed ofa vast array of instrument types and people,but we are bound by a common loveforJesus and our love formusic,"Hannah Becker, sophomore,said "So, with music and Jesus as our strong hold, we jointogether."

The marching band had become a closegroup ofbrothers and sisters, according tosenior drum major, Derek Via. "We eattogether, practice together, perform together, laugh together and crytogether," Via said "Justseeing that kind of teamwork and fellowship isenough motivation tokeep me going through everyrehearsal."

The 190 member marching band spent time together, on and off the field "The band reallystrives forunity ineverything thatwe do," Jason Baum, senior band member, said. "We spend so much time together and we areall there doing what we loveto do."

The marching band became family forjunior member Ben Mauch when he was diagnosed with cancer.The band offered support forMauch throughout this trying time.According to Baum, they prayed forhim,sent Facebook messages and always tried tobe an encouragement

"When one ofour own goes down,there really is a senseof urgency tocome together and do anything that we can tohelp them," Baum said. "We tried togivehim as much support aspossible."

Mauch was very thankful for his bandmates help. "They were very encouraging,like a family,"he said. "I never felt alone inmy struggle with that many people all rooting for me."

Groove Pocket'sjuniorguitaristRaymond Fuentes rocksout during hisband's rendition of"God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman." Musiciai is at this school often take the opportunity to minister to other people through their music "The thing I like most is having the ability to impact lives of students on campu s by ministering from the stage and also forming relationships that matter off the stage." Lorenzo Jackson, senior, said JuniorAmy Reviswows thecrowd withhervocalsduring a Coffeehouse performance Man y students showcased their music talents on stage through instruments or voices "The most alluring aspect of Christianity is it's music," Tina Riggs, junior, said "The music maior at our school is important because it trains young champions ho w to write and perform Christian music in a way that is appealing even in the secular world." Sophomore PeterFraedrich shreds on hisquitarduring a Campus ArtistSeries Fraedrich's band called 'The Fostered' wrote their ow n songs based on personal experiences and hoped to one clay becom e well known "I think that som e people have a deep passion for music and would love lo d o something with that for a career," Bryan Jones, junior, said "If your going to do something for [he rest of your

"Godofthe Ages"byTravis

DoucetteImpacts theChristian MusicScene

What priormusicalexperiencesdoyou have?

Iworked back inCanada asanAssistantMusicDirector atHarvestBibleChapelin Barrie,Ontario, Ialsotraveled withaband where Ico-wrotemusicwithJody Crossand receivedsome 'Covenant'awards,whichareCanada's equivalenttotheDoveAwards.

What ministryteamswereyou involved inatschool?

I wasontheministryteam "Exodus"forthreeand ahalf years. Duringthistime,we cutarecordand Iwasableto writeahandfulofsongsincluding"God oftheAges"for thealbum called"GiveLoveAway."

What inspiredyoutowrite"God oftheAges"?

Theinspirationcame afterreadingColossians1:15-18. As Pauldescribesthesupremacy ofChristinthis passage, theweightofhiswordsstirredsomething in myspirit. Theimpactoftheseversesonmy heartplantedadesire inme toexpressthetruthofGod'sWord ina congregationalsongthatwasadeclarativeresponseto who Godis.

How haveyouseenGod atworkthrough youraccomplishments?

It'sbeen nothingshortofamazing toseehow God has graciouslyallowed me toplayaroleinbuildingHis churchandencouraging Hispeople Iam convinced thatthemusicI havecomposed resonateswith people notbecauseofanything I'vewrittenbutbecauseofthe power ofGod'swrittenword Thereissomething powerfulaboutdeclaringtruthinaworldthatperpetuates falsehoodandlies

>•••£ JuniorGrantRagsdaleand seniorTodd Rukespleasethecrowd withtheirperformanceatthe TilleyStudentCenter.Rukesand Ragsdalemet eachotherthroughtheirmajorand haveperformed togetheronseveraloccasions "Igettoknowallofthemusicministrystudentshere,and we learn fromeachother," Rukessaid "Theyarethefutureofthemusicministryand industry,alongwith yourself,soit'ssmarttostartpartneringupwiththem now and tobuildrelationshipswiththem."