By: Audrey Ring
At just two years old, sophomore Lucy Dennis was infatuated with performing. Now, she is on the University of Maryland’s dance team.
However, dance was not Dennis’s only passion. Throughout middle school, Dennis was deeply involved with the musical theater program, but she knew that she could not do both and that a tough decision was bound to be made.
Because of the cutthroat nature of musical theater — and wanting to make sure she had an academic major — Dennis chose to dance while majoring in kinesiology.
“I had known that the Maryland dance team was the team I wanted to join because it is very performance based,” Dennis said. “I liked performing more than anything, so I wasn’t very interested in a competitive team.”
Dennis said her proudest moment so far was the first game of this season. As a sophomore, she is now able to dance the full game. Although it is extremely challenging, knowing she got through it was exhilarating. Dennis is also always able to count on her 33 teammates.
“Lucy always has a positive attitude and puts a smile on my face. It’s definitely hard to balance school and dance so it’s important that we lift each other up especially during long practices so I love having teammates like Lucy that do that,” teammate Meredith Doherty said.
Still, balancing the dance team, academics and a social life presents challenges. Dennis originally declared her major as engineering, but due to the rigorous workload, she shifted to kinesiology.
A typical in-season day for Dennis consists of two classes, with practices held Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday from 6 to 9 p.m., and an additional practice on Saturdays before the game.
“During the day we are also expected to go over choreography and make sure we are prepared for practice,” she said. “So a lot of the time, that looks like … doing schoolwork but an hour and a half before dance, I am practicing [choreography].”
Dennis is also part of a sorority, adding another obstacle to her balancing act. While her busy schedule often leaves her feeling on the outskirts, the moments when her friends are able to come support her at games make it all worthwhile.
“Sometimes it is discouraging knowing that my friends won’t be able to watch me,” she said. “But, on the other hand, when I do see them in the stands it is the best thing ever and makes me very happy to see them support me like that.”
Looking ahead, Dennis has considered dancing professionally but also wants to attend graduate school to earn a doctorate in occupational therapy.
“I’m not sure if [dancing professionally is] going to be realistic since I want to go to grad school and it might be hard to handle receiving a doctorate and also dancing on an NFL team,” she said.
“But I don’t see myself stopping performing after college.”