Ohio University dance team talks about how they feel the season is going so far and why they enjoy leaping and kicking with this group of girls.
While other students relax and unwind after class, members of the Ohio University Dance Team hurry to dance practice –– backpacks and all –– thinking counts and moves in their heads.
Alumni of the team told Melody Bryant, senior captain studying communications studies, after their first performance that they did great and looked better than ever.
“(Our season) is going really good,” said Bryant, who has been dancing since she was three years old. “We had a really hard tryout this year. We had about 30 girls –– that is 10 more than we usually see. Everyone was pretty much at the same level technique-wise, so we had to pick everyone based off their performance level; which is pretty exciting, it just really showed to me that everyone is ready to be on the team.”
With strict criteria for tryouts, the team looks for not just the ability to dance, but perform.
“We look for spirit, maturity, confidence, technique –– just anyone who looks like they can entertain literally hundreds of people at once, because the games are huge,” Bryant said.
While everyone sees the dance team smiling on the sidelines, the audience never knows what goes on inside the dancer’s mind.
“I think I better be sharp because everyone can see me, and I better smile,” Bryant said. ”I know that everyone is watching us even when we’re not dancing so it’s very important for everyone to be composed and be aware of your situation.”
While Bryant has a checklist in her head, Taylor Lykins, senior captain studying child and family studies, has a slightly different way of thinking.
“Recently, I’ve been messing up little moves, so right before I go on stage I think about the moves that I mess up,” Lykins said. “During the whole dance I’ll think about that one spot. But if I’m really familiar with the choreography I’m pretty much just not thinking at all and just dancing; trying to get the crowd involved."
Although Aimee Budzinski, a freshman studying sociology-criminology, has been dancing for 15 years, it’s her first on OU’s team.
“I love (the dance team),“ Budzinski said. “I made a lot of friends right away at tryouts and its really fun. I like it a lot but I’m used to competitive (dance) so its something to get used to but I love it.”
Practicing and performing together, the members of the dance team form a bond that goes beyond the term “teammates” for Lykins.
“Definitely hanging out with the girls is one of my favorites,” she said. “I love dancing but dance is like 10 percent of it for me, its mostly being around these girls. They’re literally my support system here –– pretty much my only go-to group of friends. I have friends from high school but these are the girls that I hang out with.”
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