Name: Annie Cuccia
Year: Senior
Hometown: Houma, LA
Major: Psychology and Sociology
What are you involved in at Tulane? I’ve been on the Shockwave Dance Team for the entirety of my college career. For the past two years, I held the position of captain, and I was co captain my Sophomore year. I’m also a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and I’m technically part of the Tulane Marching Band.
FUN FACT: Shockwave is a part of TUMB because they perform with the band for pre-game and halftime shows during football games and other events.
How long have you been dancing? Honestly, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t dance….I started dancing when I was two and a half —so, I guess that’s 20 years! Throughout my years as a dancer, I’ve danced everything from tap, to jazz, to lyrical dance and even learned ballet. Once I got to high school, I began dancing for my school’s team and competed on my dance company’s competition team. After those experiences, I decided I wanted to dance in college, and the rest is history.
What’s been the most challenging part of being a student athlete? The most challenging part of being a student athlete is the time commitment. There are some weeks when we’ll practice and perform for over 15 hours. Dedicating that much time to something makes it difficult to finish schoolwork and maintain a social life.
On the flipside, what’s the most rewarding part? That definitely has to be getting out on the football field or the basketball court and performing in front of thousands of fans. It’s the best feeling in the world knowing that you have worked so hard and put in numerous hours of practice to entertain our amazing fans at Tulane. Nothing beats the feeling of getting up in front of a large group of people and performing for them. It warms my heart when the little girls I see in the crowd come up to me after a game and tell me that they want to do what I do when they are older. I always tell them that with hard work and dedication, they can do it! It’s amazing that so many people look up to us and what we do. It makes all of the long hours completely worth it.
What’s your most memorable experience at Tulane? Throughout my past four years here, Shockwave has been blessed to have been able to participate in many events both on campus and around the city of New Orleans. Among some of my favorite memories with the team are: dancing with Beyonce during the Superbowl halftime show, preforming on national television for the Fox and Friends show, and dancing at both the Men’s Final Four and the New Orleans Bowl.
What Shockwave events can Tulane students get excited for? Shockwave is holding live auditions for the team for football season on Sunday, April 19th from 10am until 1pm. We are also accepting video auditions through the end of May. All are welcome to try out and join our amazing organization. All of the information is also on our website.
We’ll also be dancing during two more Baseball games this semester at Greer Field on March 24th and April 14th —the last games for us Seniors. They’re both at 6:30pm so come check us out!!
(Author commentary~~FOR REALZZZ GO CHECK THEM OUT and SUPPORT the Seniors during their last games!! THEY’RE AWESOME — see below. You won’t regret it)
What is one thing you must cross off your bucket list before you graduate? I really want to try the Tchoupitoulas Challenge at Creole Creamery. It is eight scoops of ice cream, eight toppings, whipped cream, cherries, and wafers. It sounds absolutely delicious, and I think I can do it!!
On a scale from 1-10 how nervous/excited are you to graduate? I’m around a seven at the moment. I’m excited to see what lies ahead of me, but the thought of leaving all of my friends and the life I know behind to start somewhere new daunts me!
If you could give incoming freshmen any advice what would it be? My advice would be to be yourself and join as many organizations as you possibly can that interest you. Through those organizations, you are the most likely to find people who are similar to you and your most valued friends. Don’t be shy. The more you branch out and open up to other people, the more likely others are to want to be surrounded by you.