The dance team has been working hard this semester as they brought pep to the basketball game and got involved in the community. They are now planning ahead for their most competitive season yet. The team most recently performed at the Paxinosa Elementary School’s Literacy Day last Saturday.

The team kicked off the semester by holding auditions and welcoming two new teammates to the squad, freshmen Camille Gitow and Jenna Blandina. 

“If we want to up our game to compete, we’re gonna need a lot of hard work and dedication from everybody, so all the current members also had to audition,” co-captain junior Stephanie Davidson said. 

Toward the beginning of the semester, the dance team spent their time performing at the men’s and women’s basketball games and supporting the teams. Although basketball season has come to an end, the dance team’s season is still in full swing.

While they continue practicing, they have also been reaching out to work with the Easton community. Last Saturday, the team performed at Paxinosa Elementary for Literacy Day, an event sponsored by America Reads. The team was one of many Lafayette organizations that attended the event to interact with the students. This year’s Literacy Day theme was environmentalism.

“The kids really enjoyed it, we really enjoyed performing, and anything to give back to the community and to raise awareness against child illiteracy is really important,” Davidson said.

The dance team performed a routine choreographed by incoming co-captain sophomore Jenna Tempkin.

“We made a whole new routine, we spent time learning it and we performed it for them. Then the kids had a Q&A with us at the end asking us how we got into dance and stuff like that, they were the cutest,” Davidson said.

Davidson explained that the event is just the beginning of the dance team’s involvement, as they’re looking into hosting dance clinics and possibly engaging in more community service.

“If the opportunity comes, we’ll definitely take it,” Davidson said.

Fundraising will also be necessary for the team as they prepare for a more competitive season. 

“If we want to be able to go to competitions and compete, we’re gonna need a lot of fundraising opportunities. So there’s definitely going to be some things in the works in terms of fundraising, maybe a showcase with other clubs on campus,” Davidson said.

The dance team is still holding three two-hour practices a week to prepare for this coming season, perfecting skills and creating new routines. The team will hold auditions on April 18 for current students who are interested in joining. Additionally, they will be holding virtual auditions over the summer for freshmen who can join in August. The dance team will arrive on campus over a week early for the fall semester to participate in the preseason and to prepare for the first football game of the year. 

“The fun thing about preseason is that we have the UDA [Universal Dance Association] coach coming to coach us for two days, so we have the opportunity to then compete in Florida next season, which is really exciting,” Davidson said. 

During football season next year, the dance team will also be traveling to a game against Temple University, where they will perform at Lincoln Financial Field for the first time. 

“Dance is an art form, but it’s also a sport,” Davidson said.