No-preference freshman Valen Yangouyian practices with the MSU Elite Dance Team on Jan. 16, 2014, in IM Sports-Circle. The team travels across the state to compete in multiple styles of dance. Casey Hull/The State News
As 16 girls bounded across the polished wooden floor last Thursday night, only one thing was on their mind: keeping their toes perfectly pointed.
These girls are a part of the MSU Elite Dance Team, a group dedicated to competitively dancing to all genres of music, from hip-hop to contemporary.
The team began in 2011 when a group of girls wanted to be on a dance team that was not as time consuming as the official MSU Dance Team. All of the founders have graduated and moved on, but they left a legacy that continues to be carried on.
For some, college is a time to explore newfound hobbies or experience different situations. But for the women on the team, college is the time to continue what they have been doing since childhood: dance.
Human biology junior Lexi Jones, who has been dancing for 17 years, said that being on the dance team is a stress reliever.
“It’s painful,” Jones said, referring to the team’s many practices. “But it’s a good release.”
The team spends two hours in IM Sports-Circle every Tuesday and Thursday, hitting the studio for stretches, leaps, pliés and bends to prepare for upcoming competitions.
This weekend, Elite traveled to Dearborn, Mich., to compete in the 2014 NUVO Dance Convention and Competition. They danced to a contemporary piece choreographed by psychology junior Brittany Whittaker.
Whittaker, who has been a dancer since she was young, joined the group her sophomore year and hasn’t regretted the decision.
“This is a place to be yourself and express your creativity,” she said. “I get to choreograph and I’m in college, so that’s pretty awesome.”
Whittaker choreographed a dance to the song “Over The Love,” by Florence and the Machine, which helped Elite take first place in the Contemporary Extended Line category and second place in the whole competition at NUVO.
Denae Asel-Templin, the team president, said the girls now are preparing themselves for their spring showcase on April 25.
Asel-Templin, a kinesiology senior, said the showcase is Elite’s annual recital where the team, other small groups and guest performers can display their talents.
“The showcase is our main goal and we work all year to (prepare for) it,” Asel-Templin said.
For some, it’s a way to continually follow their dance passion and a way to meet people at MSU. For others, the team serves as a distraction from the real world.
No-preference freshman Valen Yangouyian joined Elite in the fall semester and said she considers the team to be her second family.
“It’s a way to escape school and homework and stress and to be with people who aren’t judgmental,” she said.
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