By Hanna Laue ‘17
Staff Writer
On Feb. 26, Gordon College Dance Team took third place at the Universal Dance Association (UDA) Competition at Westfield State University. The Scots competed against nine other teams in the Open Hip Hop Division.
In the past four years, the Dance Team has gone through several ups and downs to get where they are now.
Dancer Kylee Thomas ‘17 said, “Due to the growth of the team over the past few years, this is an incredible win for us! Beginning in 2013, we had nine members on the Dance Team. By the end of the dance season, we had placed last in two competitions and the following summer, our coach stepped down due to personal reasons. The team was left with three returning girls, and at the time, we were uncertain whether Dance Team would continue or not. The following school year (2014-2015) the three returning students held auditions and gained 11 new members, totaling 14 people.”
The team continued to never give up in subsequent seasons and held auditions in hopes of gaining new members to their squad. Last school year, the team had an impressive total of 25 members. Thomas said, “With such a large amount of people we were able to accomplish things as a team that we hadn’t before due to our small size.”
In 2016, the team placed fifth out of nine, a stellar improvement from the two previous years. The Dance Team also became an official program under Gordon Athletics this school year.
This is the team’s first and only competition of the year, but the team remains hopeful for the future. “We are hopeful that being a part of athletics will bring increased resources, greater recognition, and new opportunities to compete more often,” said Thomas.
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