JMU Dance Team Places Sixth in Nationals
Posted on April 24, 2008
Wearing black vests adorned with rhinestones, intricate up-dos in their hair, and glitter on their eyelids and lips, the 14 Dukettes began their dance with an explosion. One girl flew into the air as the jazz music filled the stage before an audience of 30,000. They continued to spring through the first segment to showcase their flexibility with leg lifts, jumps and a turn sequence.
The team’s energy stayed high as they switched into the pom and hip-hop portions, featuring hands in fists with angled arms and then fluid moves low to the ground.
On April 11, the Dukettes dance team placed sixth at the National Dance Alliance’s College National Championship in Daytona, Fla.
“Sixth place was a big deal,” sophomore dancer Lauren Hensel said. “Watching the other teams during the semifinals, I was like, ‘I just don’t know.’ Dancing is very subjective so you never know what the judges will say.”
The team received a partially paid bid to attend the competition after participating in the NDA summer camp with hundreds of other dance teams, where they placed second within Division I. They placed fifth out of 20 teams during semifinals, and advanced to compete among 10 teams during finals. In 2003, the Dukettes placed fifth at Nationals, but none of the current members, mostly freshmen and sophomores, had been to the competition before.
Their two-and-a-half minute routine had to contain three distinct dance styles: jazz, pom and hip-hop.
Coach Suzanne Trow, a former Dukette and professional dancer, said that hip-hop is a constantly changing style of dance that the team does not use throughout the year.
“Hip-hop is about the rhythm and finding your own groove in your body,” Trow said. “So trying to morph that into a team routine is difficult.”
“With a dance team, everyone has to look the same,” sophomore Samantha Johnson said.
“You can look good alone, but if you don’t look good together, then it doesn’t work. We used a video camera to help us practice so we could watch our movements and see if they matched.”
The judges focused on 15 categories, including difficulty level, formation and unity.
Trow said the Dukettes were proud of also receiving a perfect 10 for their appearance.
“The scores can come down to a hundredth of a point, so it’s very detailed and specific,” Trow said. “Anything can happen.”
Trow watched the team from the coach’s box during finals, which gave her a different view than from the sidelines.
“I was really just trying to let them hear my voice at that point since they’re so used to that during practices, and helping them keep their energy up,” Trow said. “It was great to see them performing their best.”
She said she is excited to bring her young team to the next level with the goal to continuously improve so that next year they can build on their success.
However, Hensel said that many of the other teams at Nationals, including Towson, don’t perform as often at campus events. The Dukettes perform with the Marching Royal Dukes at every home football game, during every home basketball games and also at other events throughout the year.
“So, we had a lot to focus on with this competition,” said senior Erica Strong. “At school, we’re entertainers, but at Nationals we’re more athletes and performers. I like the support when dancing at school, but I’m a competitive person so I love competing too.
