Meet Katelyn Allen, the captain of the SMU Ballroom Dance Team. She is a senior majoring in advertising with minors in psychology and graphic design. Obviously, she is as quick with her brain as she is on her feet! We got a chance to sit down and talk to Katie as she reigns in this year- with graduation on the horizon and bringing SMU in as Best Overall School for Dances with Owls Competition, she’s got a lot of good things to say!
Her Campus SMU: What does the Ballroom Dance Team on campus do?
Katie Allen: Our team does a wide variety of things. On campus, we host club practices where we bring instructors in to teach social dances like salsa or swing dancing, host events (our most popular has been salsa night), and perform at other events such as Swing Night and Pigskin Revue. Off campus, we work with the USA Dance Dallas branch and events that they host, compete in competitions at UT, Rice, UH and one out of state comp (we switch it up each year) every year. This year, we also did a performance at the Dallas Arboretum for their 12 Days of Christmas exhibit.
HCSMU: How did you get involved, and what is your position now?
KA: I originally heard about ballroom from an orientation leader during AARO. From there I went to a few open practices before joining the team my freshman year. I was very excited because I always thought ballroom dancing was so beautiful! During spring semester of my freshman year I became co-captain and I have been captain since the end of my sophomore year.
HCSMU: What would you say is your favorite part of being Ballroom Captain?
KA: My favorite part of being Ballroom Captain is working so closely with our first-year members. I love recruiting people and then watching how much they grow as a person as well as a dancer from their first practice to the end of the year. I am so thankful to be a part of an organization that fosters great friendships and truly feels like a family.
HCSMU: What is the hardest part of this position?
KA: The hardest part of the job is definitely the time commitment. Between attending all practices, hosting extra practices, organizing competitions and all other team information, it can definitely take up a large amount of time. With that, I love every part of the job and we have great officers that make it an awesome experience.
HCSMU: Is there one of the dance styles like waltz or jive that you particularly like? What about one that you particularly hate?
KA: There isn’t one dance that stands out from the rest for me. It really just depends on the mood I am in. Sometimes you want to dance foxtrot and Waltz because they make you feel graceful and elegant, but sometimes you want to dance cha-cha or samba because it makes you feel sassy and confident.
HCSMU: The Ballroom Team recently went to Houston for the Dances with Owls Competition. What was that like? What was your favorite part?
KA: The Dances with Owls competition was great! We go to this competition every year and it was the largest it has ever been. All of our team members did very well and we won the team match! Competitions are an all day event, so they can be very exhausting, but also very exciting. This one was bittersweet for me because our team did so well, but it was the last time that I was able to compete at Dances with Owls.
HCSMU: How do your rehearsals and practices work? What is it like working with the coaches and the team, especially as team captain?
KA: We have two weekly practices-one for Latin dances and one for standard dances- with our instructor, Rommel Ladera, and I host a third optional practice. The first hour is our “newbie class.” It is catered to our first-year members and teaching the basics of each dance. The second hour is for our advanced team members (sophomores and up) where our instructor teaches higher level moves. As team captain, I help our coach teach the classes/show new moves. It is a lot of fun to be able to help out with younger team members, but it can also be a little stressful since you don’t want to mess up in front of them!
HCSMU: How do you get people involved in the club? What do you want people to know about it?
KA: Joining the team is a little different, but it is super easy to get involved with our club, as you can commit as much or as little as you would like! We post about club events sessions that we host on the weekend on Facebook, ORGs and in the dorms. You need absolutely no experience to come to club sessions! We teach starting at the very basics, so its fun for everyone!
HCSMU: What is your favorite moment or most funny moment with being involved in Ballroom over the years?
KA: There have been so many favorite moments, I can’t pick just one! Our coach is hilarious, so there is never a dull moment in our class. Some of the funniest times have been watching team members dance the back-to-back rumba or switching roles with their partners!
HCSMU: What does it take to compete with ballroom? How do you manage the differences between dancers who are novices and those who could literally go Ginger Rogers on us?
KA: To compete with ballroom, you have to commit to attending class two times a week and potentially a weekly optional practice as well. We have some teams members who are very serious and compete to win, and we have some members who compete for fun, so it takes up as much time as you want it to. Competitions have multiple levels which each have their own set of syllabus moves based on difficulty. These levels help dancers compete against people with similar experience. Our coach helps our members decide which levels they should compete in and teaches moves based on that.
HCSMU: Your major is advertising. Do you feel like the two work together, and might you possibly want to use both in the future? What do you like best about your major?
KA: Personally, there is not a direct connection between advertising and ballroom dancing unless I were creating ads specifically for dance groups and events. I do however design a lot of our flyers which ties in very nicely with my major and my graphic design minor. I would love to work on advertising for dance groups/events in the future, but I’m not sure if that will happen.
HCSMU: And finally- what is your favorite old dancing movie?
KA: There are SO MANY great older movies that involve fantastic dancing! Personally, I love any involving Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. When they dance together, its like magic.
Courtesy of FanPop
Look out for this amazing lady kicking it on the dancefloor and in the advertising world. Katie Allen is surely going to be dancing through life!
All Images Courtesy of Facebook