Utah State Dance Company kicks back after COVID
After two and a half years of canceled shows and lost practice time, Utah State University’s Dance Company has returned from their hiatus and is prepared to pop and lock in their upcoming spring concert.
Eve Barlow, the dance vice president and financial officer said she was excited for the upcoming concert after the shocking discontinuation of the company’s normalcy due to the pandemic.
“We had a really normal season and then come March, everything was canceled,” Barlow said. “This concert will be the first time in a while that we’re back to the grind.”
During the pandemic, dancers held masterclasses available to all USU students. According to the current presidency, these meetings were a forum to help all Aggies feel less lonely, find their individual passion for dance and have fun.
To this day, that is the goal of the company.
Savanna Buck, the dance president, expounded on this purpose, illustrating how her experience teaching these masterclasses has led her to feel less lonely, develop her current passion for dance and have fun doing it.
“Not everyone is going to have this burning passion for dance, but it is a fun challenge to pull that passion out of them and show them that they are amazing and they just don’t know it yet,” Buck said.
This last year has been the first time since March 2020 that they have been able to dance again.
Dance company members invite all to discover and foster their passion for dance at the annual auditions. Auditions are held the second week of fall semester each year.
USU Dance Team members Eve Barlow and Karli Ludwig. Photo by Paige Johnson
“Anybody can come in and anyone can be a part of it,” said Karli Ludwig, the dance company’s communications officer
According to Barlow, male and female dancers are encouraged to practice, go to community or school-led dance classes or attend the company’s sponsored workshop every February to prepare for the audition process.
Last year’s audition process was fruitful and permitted 25 new dancers.
“We are all just so passionate about dance and working towards a common goal,” Buck said. “It creates such a community and friendship, not just for things in dance, but for things in every aspect of our lives.”
This season, the dancers have performed at Mardi Gras, basketball halftime shows and the homecoming parade. They will also have a workshop open to anyone over 8 years old held at the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building in Room 215.
“We get this great university experience and then we have this amazing opportunity to dance on top of that,” Barlow said.
Though this is Buck’s final year on the USU Dance Company, she invites all Aggies to come enjoy all that it has to offer.
“Dance allows people to be free and give themselves the space to do something that is just for them, that is why Dance Company is so amazing,” Ludwig said.
Even those who have two left feet can still enjoy the power of dance at the company’s spring concert. Participate in your own freeing experience by watching these devoted dancers on April 9.
Photo by Paige Johnson