WHEN I was in high school, I was on the dance team. We had afternoon practice three times a week, morning practice once a week and performed at football and basketball games. Being part of the team was an incredibly rewarding experience, but the time commitment and energy that I had to invest was unbelievable. When I arrived at the University, I decided I just didn't have the stamina to continue with it.
Although I do really miss performing, I know I do not have the endurance to be a member of the Virginia Dance Team. When I look down on them from the heights of my seat at University Hall, I see all the girls smiling constantly, supporting the basketball team and consistently performing energetic routines, and I am in awe of them. Their dedication and spirit are unparalleled by almost any other organization on Grounds, and yet their efforts go highly unnoticed. With the end of the basketball team's regular home season, it is time that University students finally recognize the success of the team.
Many people consider dance to be an art form. Dance definitely takes strength, agility and grace, and combining these skills into an entertaining two-minute routine certainly qualifies as art. However, dance is much more than this; it is a sport. The members of the team are proof of this fact.
Dance Team Coach Tara Tibbs leads the girls through two two-hour practices and one one-hour practice each week. Team members are also required to go to team weightlifting and cardiovascular training two nights per week. With a total of five practices per week, the team members are in amazing shape, and are not just dancers - they are athletes.
In addition to their weekly practices, the team is required to be at every men's and women's basketball game an hour and a half early in order to polish and perfect their routines. They perform sideline routines throughout each game and usually perform at half time as well. Even with the extreme time commitment and dedication the members of the team put forth, they seem to get less recognition than the other dance organizations at the University.
In fact, the team does something other dance organizations don't - they show support for the University and its athletics. Although all the dance organizations at the University benefit the school by providing excellent entertainment, the team also specifically tries to increase fan support of the basketball team. "We, like the fans, are at the games first and foremost to support the team. We do our best every game to lead the crowd and give the team a psychological advantage for victory," Tibbs said.
The team does all this and much more. They reach the fans in the stands at U-Hall and increase their spirit and participation throughout the basketball games. They work with the cheerleaders and the pep band during time-outs to keep fans interested and entertained. They also provide an alternative form of entertainment from the numerous promotional activities that occur during half time. It is during this time that team members finally get to show how much their hard work has paid off by providing fans with high-energy routines to popular, recognizable music everyone can enjoy.
When the team does not perform at half time, the entertainment they normally provide is sorely missed. At the men's basketball game against UNC, the swim team was honored, a promotional game was played, and then the court remained empty until the basketball players returned to warm up. While this occurrence is not the fault of the administration or the athletic directors, this empty gap of time could have been much improved by an appearance by the team.
"We have approximately nine minutes for on-the-court half-time activities for basketball ... we must clear the court for the team with five minutes remaining on the half-time clock. Also there are sponsorship and event marketing elements that must be incorporated into a game or half-time," said Associate Athletic Director Andrew L. Rader in an interview.
Those factors are understandable, but the team works so hard that its members deserve to be a staple of every basketball game. It can be disappointing to fans when the team does not get the opportunity to perform.
Fans may soon get to see more of the team if they begin performing on the sidelines during football games, a goal for next year's team. This way, they could accompany the cheerleaders and the pep band, providing football fans with the same spirit and energy basketball fans experience during every home game.
Athletic Director Terry Holland says that the athletics department works closely with the dance team to help them "accomplish their mission." The team's mission, that of promoting school spirit, should be a mission all University students support.
"We are very thankful for the opportunities that the administration has provided and we are thankful that we have been able to perform at so many games this year," Tibbs said.
As a former dancer, a basketball fan and a University student, I must say that I am thankful as well.
(Michelle Drucker's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at mdrucker @cavalierdaily.com.)
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