While many know the team for its halftime routines at football and basketball games, the dance team also represents N.C. State at the annual dance championships in Daytona Beach, Fla.
After a third-place finish in the 2006 Chick-fil-A Cheer and Dance Collegiate Championship, the dance team expected to contend for a national title in the 2007 championships last April.
The Wolfpack finished 10th place, which, according to senior captain Lauren Strasser, was well short of expectations.
“It was not a very good year for us,” Strasser said.
The team enters this year ready to retake its position among the nation’s elite dance teams. Junior Kayla Anderson said State has no reason not to shoot for the top.
“Our goal this year is to win the National Championship,” Anderson said. “We have a lot of talent this year.”
The team is led by new coaches Jamila Wright and Kristin Smith. Senior captain Jenna Patkunas said the new leadership is working hard to get the team better professional choreography for the upcoming year.
“We have new coaches this year; we like them a lot,” Patkunas said. “I think they are really going to push getting choreographers and better choreography for our national’s routine.”
The Pack started strong with a second-place finish at a national team dance competition this summer, earning the team a partially-paid bid to the collegiate championships in April.
In previous seasons, however, the team was able to get fully paid bids to the championships. Strasser said the National Dance Association changed its method of giving out bids this year.
“We used to tape in the fall to try to get a paid-bid to nationals,” Strasser said. “This year, you can only get a paid-bid at camp, and people basically voted on which two teams they liked the best to get the paid bid.”
And according to Strasser, it was basically a “popularity contest.”
“They voted for the nicest teams rather than voting based on dance ability. Clearly we were one of the top-two teams,” she said.
The issue of getting paid bids is very serious for the dance team. While the team performs at varsity athletic events and competes in national competitions, it lacks the varsity status that a comparable organization like the cheerleading squad has. Anderson said that as a club team, they receive very little financial support.
“It’s hard to draw the line,” Anderson said. “We’re on gopack.com, and everyone sees us at varsity athletic events. Yet, we go to club sports meetings, and the only funding we get is what club sports gives us, which is pretty minimal.”
In addition to funding, Strasser said the team’s access to facilities is inadequate if it wishes to remain one of the top dance programs in the nation.
“We can barely use Carmichael,” Strasser said. “Sometimes we have to go to Cardinal-Gibbons High School right down the road and use their dance room because there is simply not enough space for us.”
Despite the obstacles, the team remains confident that it can compete for the national title next April. The team will hold tryouts for new members Sept. 5 – 6 in Carmichael Gymnasium.
While Anderson stressed the team is really looking for new talent, she warned that prospective dancers must realize that there are serious physical challenges that come with being on the team.
“We are an athletic team, too,” Anderson said. “A lot of girls don’t know that coming in. Just because you can dance at the club doesn’t mean you’re in shape enough for the team.”
