Staying Involved with Dance after High School
Written by Savannah Wery, University of Minnesota Class of 2020
Dance has always been a huge part of my life. I danced at a studio since I was three through freshman year of high school, was captain of our high school dance team, and even held our first community kids’ clinic for my high school senior project.
Coming to college, I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to find an outlet to keep dancing. As a student at the University of Minnesota, I knew that college dance team wasn’t in the cards for me. Although dance has always been a passion of mine, I knew I lacked the advanced technique and skills necessary to compete at the Division I collegiate level. Check out these 3 awesome ways to stay involved in dance all throughout college!
Join a College Dance Club
My freshman year of college, I stumbled upon a studio-style dance group at a campus student group fair. It has become one of my homes in college, with weekly technique and combo classes and a showcase of student-choreographed pieces every semester! My first few semesters I participated in just one or two dances, choreographed and taught by other students. However, after a few semesters in, I felt comfortable enough to try choreographing my own pieces! This has been a great way to connect with and build community with other dancers on campus.
2. Help with Dance Team Choreo (at the high school or middle school levels)
My sophomore year of college, my old coach invited me to help with choreography for a team she was working with. I got to help with everything from formations, to figuring out group work, to actually teaching the dancers. We essentially worked as a middleman between the choreographer and the team, making sure that the choreography worked for the specific team. This was also one of the first times I got to see the Tiers System in action from the coaching perspective (rather than as a dancer).
3. Teach Dance in the Community Abroad
During my semester abroad in London, I had the opportunity to intern with a women’s center, which provided after-school programming for girls and career training for women. My supervisors were very flexible with the projects that I took on and wanted them to reflect my skills and passions, so I was able to lead a weekly youth dance club and women’s Zumba class! Throughout our time together in the weekly club, I was able to teach 6-to-11-year-olds a little technique and short combo in ballet, hip hop, and lyrical. While this was in my London community, I’m sure similar opportunities exist in your immediate college community, too!
I wasn’t sure if I would be able to keep dancing in college knowing that I didn’t have the training or skills to make the dance team. However, there are so many opportunities to keep dancing, choreographing, coaching, and teaching - on campus, in the community, and in the dance team world. The most important thing is to just keep doing what you love - dancing!
