Swing time

Dancers prepare to shake things up

BY JAKE CORN AND
KELSEY BLACKWELL
UNIVERSITY JOURNAL

The SUU Ballroom Dance Company will swing onto the stage Friday and Saturday performing its spring concert for audiences in the Centrum Arena.
Its newest show, “Swinging,” will feature the hard work of the team as well as guest entertainers.
Jen Maughan, SUU Ballroom Dance Company director, said the show is going to be an “educational, entertaining, and cultural experience.”
The group’s performance will feature a number of favorites including the rhumba, waltz and mambo.
“There’s going to be a lot of energy and a lot of people,” said Caleb Kreitzer, a sophomore math major from Parowan and member of the team. “The music and lights are definitely going to be appealing.”
The team has been rehearsing for the concert since September and won a first place award for the mambo at a competition at BYU-Idaho March 28-29.
“It was so exciting,” said Jennifer Sears, a junior pre-business major from Provo and team member. “We were screaming and crying. It was a lot of hardwork and extra rehearsals, but finding out we won just made us want to put even more effort into it.”
In addition to its award for the mambo, the team also took first place in the spirit competition and second in the team match competition, according to a press release.
The event at BYU Idaho marks the first time the group has ever placed first as a team.
“We worked really hard the last couple of weeks,” Kreitzer said. “It was pretty cool it worked out. I was really pleased that the team did really well.”
Aside from its award-winning dances, the group will also perform pieces with a touch of West Coast flair, including the Lindy hop, West Coast swing, triple swing and jive.
Guest performers will include the backup team, Hurricane High School, and the Waukeenyan dance team.
Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for general admission.
The show will begin Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Jeff Sorensen, a sophomore art major from Lakewood, Colo., said he encourages students to come to the show because there’s something everyone can enjoy.
“It is going to be lots of fun,” he said. “The music we will be dancing to includes Harry Connick Jr., Goo Goo Dolls, and

 

Marina Popova, a senior marketing major from Tomsk, Russia, dances the Waltz with her partner Brenton Cheney during a ballroom dress rehearsal April 9. The team will perform its spring concert this weekend April 11-12.
PHOTO COURTESY OF KRISTIE BLANCH

1950s music.”
Sorenson said he thinks students should attend because he believes some people may not be aware there is a ballroom team on campus. By coming, he hopes students gain a better perspective about what the group does.
“It is a really physical thing,” Sorenson said, “It is now being called a sport.”
Kristie Blanch, a junior art major from Farmington, agrees people should come see the show to learn more about ballroom.
“People have a lot of misconceived ideas about what ballroom is,” she said. “People should come to see what we’re all about.”
Though the team rehearses every day at 6 a.m., dancers said they enjoy participating in the program.
“Ballroom gives me a break from school work,” Kreitzer said. “I feel part of the group and like contributing to the university and entertaining.