In the transition from high school to college, there are many important decisions to be made. For dancers, an important one is whether or not to continue dancing. Dancing at the collegiate level can be great experience. As a 3-year member of my university’s dance team, I personally wouldn’t enjoy college as much as I do if I wasn’t part of the team.
1. School Spirit
There is no better way to spend your time in college than supporting all the athletic teams. You also get the best seats, the sidelines! Dancing to the band, cheering on your team along with the cheerleaders, and getting to wear a cute, shiny uniform with your school colors is much more enjoyable than sitting with the crowd.
2. You instantly make friends.
Most students fear not making friends easily when starting college; nonetheless, if you are part of a collegiate dance team, you meet your teammates in the summer for practices or camp. Spending countless hours with your teammates and attending every school event together helps create a very special bond, and more than likely, if it weren’t for dance, you probably would have never met your dance BFF or Big/Little Sister.
3. Teamwork
Whether it is for a competition, halftime performance or any practice, teamwork is essential. It is important to communicate well with every single team member and your coach. Getting 20 dancers to look exactly the same requires a lot of coordination but mainly communication. Helping each other out, and being able to accept constructive criticism from other members is key to achieving success and always remember, you must work together as a team.
4. Lifeskills
Dance can teach you various things than you can apply to your everyday life. It can help you become more responsible and manage your time wisely. Since a collegiate dance team is very time consuming, you need to know that finishing your homework before that late night practice will save your life. It also teaches you discipline. At times practices may be tough, but there is no better feeling than finishing a performance and feeling good about you did out there. Most importantly, it makes you realize that hard work pays off.