By Jacqueline Tung, AMS Social Media Coordinator (Canada Summer Jobs 2026)
After years without a showcase, the UBC Ballet Club returned to the stage this year, earning the club the AMS Arts and Culture Award.
The award recognizes student clubs that make meaningful contributions to the cultural life of the UBC community through creativity, artistic expression and engagement.
The club’s return to the stage came through Nocturne, its first showcase since 2019. The performance brought together 85 dancers and sold out its venue, marking a notable contribution to arts and culture on campus.
Beyond the showcase, the club offered low-cost weekly classes, workshops and performance opportunities for students with different levels of experience throughout the year.
“The UBC Ballet Club’s main purpose is to make ballet accessible for all,” said Maria Djordjevic, president of the UBC Ballet Club.
The club has also seen steady growth in membership and social media presence over the past year, with returning members across its executive team, performance company dancers and club members.
“We are keeping this art form alive and thriving on campus,” said Djordjevic.
The UBC Comedy Club was also recognized as an Arts and Culture Award nominee for its efforts to make comedy more accessible to the UBC community.
The club hosted free open mics and beginner-friendly workshops with professionals from the local comedy scene.
“Our club focuses on making comedy more accessible and low-pressure for the UBC community,” said Wayne Fen, president of UBC Comedy Club.
Fen said its executive team and audience both doubled in size this year, while the club produced twice as many shows as it did the previous year.
One of those shows, Not Seeing Anyone, came together after performers dropped out three weeks before the event. The executive team rebuilt the production from scratch, creating one of the club’s most popular blind-dating shows.
If you’re looking to get involved in the arts on campus, UBC Ballet Club and UBC Comedy Club offer opportunities to participate, perform and connect with other students on campus.
Website: https://ubcballetclub.wixsite.com/ubcballetclub
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ubcballet/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ubccomedyclub
Explore more student clubs and find opportunities to get involved: https://amsclubs.ca/
Jacqueline Tung is a student journalist with BCIT News and a Broadcast and Online Journalism student at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). She is a UBC alumna with a background in International Relations and Psychology. Originally from Hong Kong and now based in Vancouver, she is passionate about multimedia storytelling and covering human-centered stories, local voices and community issues.
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