‘Riddim’ is the Jamaican word ‘patois’, which means ‘rhythm’ in English. The Riddim World Dance Club was founded in the spring of 1998 by Tessa Waddell ’02. The initial board consisted of Eve Coronado ’02, Mailyssa Adodo ’02, Asha Johnson ’02, Anissa Mohammed ’02, Yuri Lawrence ’02, and Wesley Wade ’02–they conspired to create a group which would offer different style of dance to the Middlebury College Community. From the Club came the Troupe, an entirely student-run and audition-only group that performs once each semester for the College community.

The Troupe performed for the first time at the 1998 AAA Fashion Show. By the end of 1999, Riddim received the Outstanding New Organization award 1999-2000 at the Leadership Awards Ceremony.

In the spring of 2000, Riddim lost for of its members in a tragic accident. Though no longer with us, Anisa Gamble, Tiffany Holmes, Iniko Johnson, and Maika Simone continue to live on through our performances and workshops. The revenue from each spring show goes towards the Angels’ Fund, a scholarship fund set up in their memory.

The goal of the Riddim World Dance Troupe is to provide the Middlebury College Community with an outlet of expression through diverse dance styles, such as hip-hop, jazz, samba, reggae, calypso, merengue, modern, and African dance forms. The troupe is extremely diverse, attracting dancers from all over the world.