The engaging performances of the UTRGV Women’s Dance Team shines its school spirit at athletic and collegiate events.
Senior Captains Gabriela Salinas, Joyce Cantu and Vianney Silva lead the team forward, bringing their passion and knowledge of dance to inspire their teammates.
Salinas said one of the challenges is the team’s tight practice schedule.
“Whenever we would work together, we only had a certain amount of time in the mornings,” she said. “Since a lot of us have classes afterwards, having that short amount of time to really go over everything and getting everything done and cleaned, that was quite the challenge.”
The Women’s Dance Team has showcased their talents at a variety of events, including UTRGV’s Boots and Barbecue during Homecoming Week, basketball games and open football practices and scrimmages.
Silva discussed the routines and choreography the team practices for.
“We do go to a summer camp in Texas State University,” she said. “So, there we do learn from a bunch of choreographers that came from different dance backgrounds, college levels, as well as the NBA level of dancing per style. That’s where we learn like our timeout routines that you see at, like, volleyball games or basketball games, and now, this upcoming year football.”
On March 29, the Vaqueros made history by representing UTRGV in the Division I category at the ADTS National Collegiate Championship for the first time. They secured first runner-up in both team jazz and the overall competition.
Cantu said it felt like an honor to represent UTRGV at the ADTS National Collegiate Championship.
“A lot of people probably didn’t even know that the UTRGV had a dance team before because we haven’t gone out to competitions,” she said. “People might not know of us, or they might not know our talents, and going to compete, and showing how much talent we actually have in the team and how diverse dancers are. Hopefully, it gives other people the opportunity and wanting to try out for the dance team.”
The UTRGV Women’s Dance Team will continue to enhance its skills for future athletic and collegiate events.
This is Leonardo Guajardo for Vaquero Radio.
