Dance Team Excited for Upcoming Year
Semo Ongondo

UMass Lowell dance team kicked off its third year this past Saturday at the River Hawks first home Basketball game. This year the director of the team, Amanda Dumont, is trying to get the word out about team and what they do. The Dance team started three years ago in the fall of 2002 and is a recreational sport. Dumont, a founder of the team, said she began the team to, "bring together students who shared the same interests and talent." Talent would be the right word to describe this year's group. This semester eight girls were asked to join the team after auditioning in early September and two remained from the previous years. All the girls have some dance training, though that is not a necessary requirement to be on the team. With such a wide range of dance experience it allows for the girls to contribute to the teams choreography. Erika Steele, a freshman here at UMass, choreographed the team's first half time performance. Erika has been dancing for 16 years, competing for 12 years, and teaching for 4 years. Needless to say she is a great addition to the team this year. When asked about her feelings on the team Steele said, " I have so much fun with the team, the girls are awesome and I'm really excited to see what we will accomplish this year."

The team meets twice a week for practice and is also working with some gymnastic coaches to help them with some tumbling. The dance team currently performs a mix of jazz and hip-hop style and will perform this year at most of the River Hawks home games. Since all the girls have dance experience performing is nothing new to them. Ashley Richards a second year dance team member and a current sophomore at UMass Lowell, said, " Performing has to be my favorite part of dancing! I have always loved to dance and express myself by performing. It's a great experience to be able to do this in a college setting with all of your friends there to watch and be part of it with you."

The dance team has a lot of things planned for this upcoming year. They're planning some fundraisers to help out the team, looking into competitions, and are looking into other places and events where they can perform and represent the school. They will also hold auditions sometime during the spring semester. This year the organization of the team is great, the director Amanda Dumont spends a lot of time contributing to the team. She choreographs, runs the practices, and makes sure that everything that involves the dance team is in order. Dumont, who plans on going into sports and entertainment marketing, transferred here in 2002 to study marketing. When asked about her dancing background Dumont said, "I grew up as a national competitive dancer and performer, I have been teaching dance since I was 13 years old and I still teach at a local dance school." Dumont also contracts for numerous magazines and venues and will be appearing as a dancer in an upcoming Bud Light commercial.

All the girls on the team seem to be excited about this year, "Being able to go out there and support our men's basketball team is always fun in itself!" Richards said. With all of them having a passion for dance they work hard to create performances the crowds will enjoy. The next game the dance team will perform at is on Thursday, January 6, 2005 and they urge all students to come out and support the team. With so much talent and experience behind them the dance team is certain this year will be its best yet. Julie Salvato has been on team for over two years now and when asked about what she thought of this upcoming year she said, " Every year our team improves. This year our team is the best since its been created. We were lucky enough to gain eight amazing new dancers. These girls make it possible for us to have greater opportunities in the future. With the level of talent on the team this year I'm sure we will gain more respect with our audience and peers than ever before."