BY TYLER MILLIKEN // March 1, 2017 //

Since September, the Curry College dance team has been performing at events on campus and practicing three times a week, in preparation for the annual New England Dance Championships at Westfield State University.

This past Sunday, the dance team traveled two hours away to put all their practice on display. The Colonels squad competed in the Open Division at the Woodward Center for only the second time in their short history.

At this year’s competition, the dance team was able to enter two different numbers. They would compete in the both the Jazz and Pom categories throughout the day. Coach Stephanie Raine choreographed both pieces for the team.

Four judges would be responsible for deciding the winners of each section. They would rate teams using three different focuses: execution, choreography, and overall effect.

Prior to the start of the festivities, the Colonels squad did their pre-performance rituals to help the tone for the day. Each member huddled together by putting their feet in first position and holding hands. Then, each team member put their head in the circle and began sharing positive energy with each other.

In the Jazz category, Curry would compete against fourteen other teams. While the performance went well, the team only placed eleventh overall. Despite the results not being ideal, Curry took advantage of their short break before the start of their next performance.

After the team changed into their uniforms for the Pom category, the Colonel squad huddled up again to help get the energy flowing.

While competing against a total of six teams in the Pom grouping, the dance team finished in fourth place. It wasn’t the top of the category, but Curry stayed positive after giving it their all.

“Both of our performances went extremely well, and the support from our friends, family, and the Curry community has helped us every step of the way,” explained team captain Kaitlyn Morris.”We love representing Curry and are thrilled to have grown our team to this caliber in the few years we’ve been a club sport.” 

Once the competition wrapped up, awards were given out to the winning teams. Ultimately, the Colonels didn’t take any hardware home, but it doesn’t mean the team looks at the trip as a failure.

“I think knowing that as a team we made [Coach Steph] proud is more rewarding than the results of the competition,” Morris noted. “The team agreed that this experience brought us closer together and aligned our goals for future opportunities.”

The dance team will have the opportunity to keep making strides in the coming months, as they work to improve on their craft. As one of Curry’s newer club sports, they’re bound to get better with more experience in competitive formats.