Dancing to the Beat of a Different Drum
‘If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself’ is an old adage that Krissy Smith said she know knows plenty about.
Smith, senior triple majoring in liberal arts, secondary education and social studies composite, is the founder and president of the USU contemporary jazz dance company called Full Circle. Smith has been dancing since she was 2 years old and wanted to start a dance company at USU because she said there is nothing for people who want to dance after high school.
The company was formed this year as a middle ground between the Aggiettes and the cheerleading squad. Smith said she was interested in bridging the gap and starting a dance company that focused solely on dance. One main difference the contemporary jazz dance company has from both the Aggiettes and the cheerleading squad is that the company does not incorporate any cheers into its dances, Smith said.
“We’re more of a professional dance company,” Smith said.
Brittany Clark, sophomore majoring in public relations, said she joined Full Circle because she likes the style of dance better than drill or cheer.
Treasurer Cara Van Tassell, sophomore in pre-art, said she was also drawn to the modern dance style and professionalism the company offers.
“We’re hardcore dancers,” Van Tassell said.
Smith said it was long process involving a lot of paperwork in order to take the company from a club to an official team, but it has been worth it.
“I love the (company members),” she said. “We’re all students, and they are devoting so much time because they want to dance. We’ve become like a family.”
After the paperwork was done, Smith said she began holding auditions for the new company. Smith posted fliers around campus and held open auditions for all students.
“I saw a flier for auditions on the Fieldhouse door and was so excited,” Clark said, who said she has been dancing most of her life. “The auditions were intense. There was a lot of good talent, and Krissy is an amazing choreographer, so it made me excited.”
Currently, company members do not receive scholarships or class credit for their involvement with the company. Smith said the dancers are part of it simply because they love to dance.
“I love how all the girls will come put their time and energy into it,” said secretary Melissa Howes, sophomore majoring in family consumer and human development. “They’ll just do it ’cause they love to dance.”
Omar Poole, undeclared freshman, said one reason the team has become so close is because everyone gets along.
“The girls are way cool,” Poole said. “There haven’t been any fights or anything.”
Poole, who is the only permanent male member of the company, said that his favorite part of being involved with dance is the excitement and exhilaration he gets from performing, as well as the athleticism involved.
Once the company was formed, Smith said they got right to work preparing for upcoming performances. In addition to dancing, members of the contemporary jazz dance company have decided to devote time to community service, she said. For its first project, Full Circle is planning to go to an elementary school for an assembly to teach children about dance.
“I think service is so important, and every dance company should do it,” Clark said. “We can really reach out to elementary and high school students.”
The members of the company also plan on holding a workshop for local high school students in order to raise money for the company and get students interested in dance.
“We wanted to be involved with the community because there is not a professional company in Logan, so we wanted to bring attention to it,” Smith said. “We want to keep the art of dance alive.”
Recently, the company has been working on three numbers, which they performed at the Howl on Saturday. Smith said the pieces featured a variety of modern jazz and hip-hop dance to showcase the dancers’ talent.
“I teach a hip-hop PE class, so I recruited some boys from there,” Smith said.
One recruit, Danny Pond, said he started dancing only a few years ago when someone introduced him to break-dancing and first heard about the contemporary jazz dance company while taking Smith’s hip-hop class.
“I thought it would be the way for me to work on my style and coordination,” Pond, undeclared freshman, said.
Clark said she has enjoyed working on the Howl performance because it gives her a chance to explore all different mediums of dance.
“I love (the pieces) because they are all so different,” Clark said. “They have a lot of variety.”
The next performance for the contemporary jazz dance company will be Nov. 14 in the Ballroom of the Taggart Student Center. The company will be joining with the rest of the USU dance groups to present “Breaking Boundaries” in honor of Diversity Week. Admission will be $3.
-amanda.m@aggiemail.usu.edu