Dance team revives the pulse of campus

LUDT (L-R): Isabelle James, Leah Figueiredo, Cass, Regan Atchue, Teagan Anz (top), Ayaka Yamamoto, Bianca Chaves, Sierra Berry, Becca Donovan (bottom) pose for a team photo. Photo courtesy of Teagan Anz

With over seventy clubs and organizations at Lasell, the campus is vibrant and lively with multiple events planned weekly. One of these clubs, the Lasell University Dance Team (LUDT), is constantly looking for ways to shake things up through their performances and activities. Many students already know LUDT for their halftime performances at basketball games. Still, those in the group see much more: the work that goes into choreographing said performances, the hours dedicated to perfecting the dance numbers, and the weeks spent practicing for even more events than just home games.

Leah Figueiredo, a Sophomore Business Management major who serves as the Assistant Captain of LUDT, explained some of the events the dance team partakes in beyond the halftime performances. 

“Additionally, LUDT is invited to appear at showcases hosted by other colleges for their college events,” Figueiredo said. “We enjoy attending dance conventions as well as competing in dance competitions. We meet twice a week for practice and often have open classes for those who want to learn some choreography or just want to see what we are about.”

LUDT has also hosted numerous open classes of different genres. Some classes they hosted were a heels class, hip-hop class, and a zumba class. Different members of the dance team create choreography that is then taught to participants in the class.

LUDT’s open classes offer students an opportunity to enjoy choreography and dancing with members of the team but there are also added benefits to participating in classes. 

“Attending classes allows participants to already make friendships on the team, and the captains can see their dance skills. Being familiar with the team by showing up to the open classes is a great upper hand to have when coming into tryouts in the fall. [The captains] are familiar with the dancer and the dancer is also familiar with how the dances may be taught,” junior hospitality major and LUDT captain Bianca Chaves said. 

The Executive Board of LUDT. (L-R): Leah Figueiredo, Teagan Anz, Bianca Chaves. Photo courtesy of Teagan Anz

Upcoming for LUDT is their biggest event of the year: their end-of-the-year showcase. 

“We have our showcase coming up, which is the last weekend of school, and we have full team dances that we've done for these past two semesters, small group dances from open classes, and then anyone who wants to do any special numbers (solos, duets, or trios) can perform those in our showcase,” sophomore forensic science major and LUDT manager Teagan Anz said.

The showcase is scheduled this year for April 28 in de Witt Hall starting at 6:00 pm. 

Lasell’s Dance Team for the 2023-2024 season consists of nine members: Chaves, Figueiredo, and Anz, along with Isabelle James, Regan Atchue, Ayaka Yamamoto, Sierra Berry, Becca Donovan, and Cass. 

LUDT is always looking for new members. Although they are wrapping up their 2023-2024 season, they intend to be back and better than ever for the 2024-2025 season. Their first appearance will be at the Fall Activities Fair and tryouts will be held shortly after. 

For interested participants, Anz explains the tryout process.

“Tryouts is [when] participants come in and meet the captains and then learn a thirty-second combo. Following this, the people trying out then perform the combo as a big group and then are broken up into groups of two to three people. It takes about an hour and a half.”