Dancing Up A Storm
An Inside Look At The Bison Dance Team
Vuthana Suon, STAFF
Photo courtesy of Bison Sports.
For many people, dancing alone in front of a mirror is scary enough, but for the members of the U of M Bison dance team, it’s simple compared to getting up in front of thousands of people at basketball and football games.
Coaches Crystal Blanchard and Christine Porpiglia lead the 19 students who make up the Bison dance team every Saturday night at halftime or between plays at Bison sporting events.
In just their third season as a team, the dancers currently perform at football, basketball and volleyball games, after spending the first two years exclusively at basketball games. They are also involved in community events, and are active in fundraising, including holding socials and carwashes to help pay for uniforms and shoes.
Dancers versus cheerleaders
With both a dance team and a cheerleading squad at U of M, some people often get confused, thinking the teams are one and the same. However, there are some very important differences between the two squads.
“The dance team is more artistic, we don’t do any stunting and we don’t have any formal cheers,” said Porpiglia. “We also try to incorporate elements of jazz, hip-hop and Latin into our dances.”
The dance team is more performance-oriented than the cheerleaders, appearing only during breaks in the action, rather than patrolling the sidelines pumping up the crowd.
“Our role is to support Bison sports and to give university students who have been dancing their entire lives a professional place for them to perform,” said Porpiglia.
Picking the team
With tryouts every May, the dancers are chosen over a series of three days. Prospective members are given two dances to remember and are expected to be able to perform in front of Blanchard and Porpiglia by the end of the tryout period. Once chosen, members are expected to attend weekly practices and perform during Saturday night games.
At the end of the day, coaching the team is a major time commitment, taking up the free time usually reserved for working or studying, but Blanchard and Porpiglia are grateful for the opportunity to be able to continue what they did in high school. Most of all, the two coaches enjoy using their experience to teach the other women on the team different dances and choreography.
Why dance?
Juggling extracurricular activities like dance or sports with school, work and a personal life is always a struggle, but according to dancers Danielle Arnold and Ashley Peape, it’s well worth it. Arnold, who has been with the team for all three years, enjoys dancing too much to give it up.
“I’ve been in dance and gymnastics since I was young and I love being involved with school and getting out to different events,” said Arnold. “The girls are also really awesome and we all become really good friends by the end of the year.”
Similarly, Peape, who danced in high school and aspires for a career in medicine, finds the struggle to be especially tough sometimes, especially with regard to the ever-so-important GPA, but would not have it any other way.
“Dancing keeps me active; when you’re studying all the time and you don’t get much free time, coming to dance practice is sort of the free time that you get,” said Peape “It’s hard work sometimes, but it’s all worth it in the end.”
