UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 2, Page 5
September 12, 1991
Intense training; Student dance team prepares for fall debut

     School is back in session and the most commonly asked question
is:  "How was your summer vacation?"
     Most students will give one of three responses: exciting,
boring or relaxing. Usually, stories of summer antics are
highlighted by a week or two at the beach, time spent visiting
friends or endless hours sleeping-anything but going to work.
     I took a week off from work this summer, but I spent that
time-by choice-sweating, aching and, at times, totally frustrated.
I have to admit it was the best week of my vacation.
     No, I am not insane nor a masochist. As a member of the
University's Precision Dance Team, I was required to attend a
week-long dance camp sponsored by the Universal Dance Association
(UDA).
     It began Monday morning, Aug. 12. I met my 14 teammates at the
Delaware Field House bright and early (at the ungodly hour of 8
a.m., to be exact). We piled into a "luxurious" and "spacious"
University van and were off to Rutgers University for a week of
what we thought would involve learning new routines, polishing
techniques, engaging in some friendly competition and FUN.
     We got more than what we bargained for.
     We arrived on the New Jersey campus shortly before noon
because we took the scenic, back-roads-of-Jersey route, thanks to
a few wrong turns. Following a brief demonstration given by our
instructors (a.k.a., the slave drivers), our first dance class
began.
     The instructors were teaching different dances, ranging from
level 1 (easiest) to level 4 (suicide), and each participant chose
which routine she wanted to learn. Feeling daring, I chose level 4.
     How bad could it be?
     I won't bore you with the gory details, but I will say that I
was in level 2 the following morning.
     The rest of the week pretty much duplicated the first day
except the torture began earlier. We awakened to the melodious
sounds of an alarm clock at 6:30 a.m. and somehow managed to
squeeze in breakfast, warm-ups, learning new routines, reviewing
old routines and two hours of practice before lunch.
     After inhaling our food, there was just enough time for a
quick nap, technique class and more practice. Dinner came as a
welcome break at 5 p.m., but then it was back to the dorm to
practice until midnight.
     In the midst of all this chaos were complaints of pulled
muscles, arguments about which move came next in the dance and
fights for the shower.
     Sounds like paradise, right?
     After what seemed like an eternity, we saw the light at the
end of the tunnel. Friday, competition day, had arrived. All that
was left was a competition among 12 squads, involving performances
of a routine brought from school and of the new dances.
     Being the last team to perform, we watched our competitors
pirouette, Robocop and Roger Rabbit with more skill than ever
before. There was no doubt that we had to give the best performance
of our lives to even be noticed.
     Our routine went well, but we weren't quite sure it was good
enough to qualify. We thought we might be out of our league.
     The awards ceremony followed almost immediately. How could the
judges make a decision so quickly?
     The teams stood in an open field for the presentation of
awards.
     It all came down to this moment. A trophy would make all of
the hard work worthwhile.
     "Third place goes to -------." It wasn't us, and to tell you
the truth, I was so nervous that I didn't pay attention to who was
named.
     "The team from ------ takes second place." No mention of
Delaware. What a waste.
     "And first place goes to the ladies from the Delaware Dance
Team!"
     You've never seen a group of girls more surprised or more
excited. We screamed, we cried, we hugged, we screamed some more.
We had done it. The Delaware Dance Team was the camp champion.
     But it wasn't over. The presentation of the "superior"
trophies was yet to come. These were given to squads who
demonstrated overall talent and dedication throughout the week.
     Yes, we received one-that was trophy number two.
     Perhaps best of all, we could finally go home.
     The ride back to Newark (no, we didn't get lost this time) was
filled with a discussion of the awards and plans for future
performances at the men's basketball games.
     Everyone was still in shock when we arrived on campus late
that afternoon. We had done what we had set out to. We had come
away from camp with much more than two trophies. A week at dance
camp taught us to be confident in our abilities as a team, to never
give up when working toward a goal and to value the talent of each
individual on the team.
     It was a week I'll never forget.
                                        - Denise Arroyo

Arroyo, a junior communication major, is an intern in the Office of
Public Relations.