Athletics steps up, Dance team steps out

The Reilly Center sidelines grew quiet, and the basketball timeouts tamed as the university's dance and hip-hop teams withdrew from performances last semester.For sophomore Brittany Feldmeyer and the SBU Hip Hop Team, the lull in the group's rhythmic clapping and stomping came about toward the end of the semester, as outside obligations pulled available participants under the 10-performer minimum set by the athletics department.

"Everyone was so busy with finals and projects, and we had upperclassmen who couldn't come," Feldmyer, the team's captain, said. "We couldn't perform without them, so we stopped so that they could keep their grades up."

The Step Team, averaging 10 to 12 members at a time, held tryouts Jan. 20 and 24 for interested students.

It plans to perform at basketball games this semester.

The SBU Dance Team bears a different story.

Performing on-and-off since 1998, the dance team reached an "off" period in Fall 2009. With other programs like the cheerleading squad, step team and hip hop team competing for the same interested students, the dance team fell into trouble as members started leaving, junior Marissa Sangiacomo said.

One girl moved to California. Another took off to take up a student teaching job.

With the dance team numbers decreasing, the athletics department expressed its concern.

Michelle Scannell, the university's marketing and promotion coordinator for athletics, explained the decision to set the minimum at 10 performers for in-game entertainment at basketball games.

"Because we're a Division I (school) we had to step everything up," she said.

Sangiacomo offered the dance team's interpretation.

"(Athletics) thought that more numbers meant a better show," she said. "They wanted to make the overall quality better because we're supposed to be a (Division I) school."

In a 2,000-student university, Sangiacomo questioned the need to add more dance groups and keep strict membership requirements.

"Why do we need two dance teams, especially when we felt like our dance teams were competitive to begin with?" Sangiacomo asked, referring to the dance team and the hip hop team.

Because the hip hop team held its tryouts earlier in the semester, Sangiacomo said freshmen interested in performance dancing either didn't know there were more dance teams or immediately committed to the hip hop team.

Notice Board notifications and personal invites to interested dancers helped the dance team recruit a few more members, Sangiacomo said, but the team still struggled to hold onto the members it had.

Scannell and Lance Brennan, director of marketing and promotions, asked the dance team members to perform for a costume and routine approval.

Sangiacomo said they have not maintained contact with the team about numbers or performance details since.

They did, however, offer a solution to the low participation problem.

"Athletics suggested we share members of other teams, ask them if they wanted to do both," Sangiacomo said. "We didn't feel comfortable with that. We didn't want it to look like we were trying to steal people. We want people who want to be on our team."

Sangiacomo said the dance team offers the same opportunities as the hip hop team, but she and her teammates did not think trying to meet the minimum participation would serve a purpose in the near future.

"We kind of feel like nobody seems to care that we're gone, so we feel kind of disappointed," she said.

The dance team filled in for the cheerleaders during a cheerleader boycott in 2002. Sangiacomo said athletics' perceived apathy hurts the team with deep roots to the teams on the court.

"We always go to all the games. We sit on the sidelines and cheer. We're very committed to the teams, and that's what kind of hurt us more with athletics," Sangiacomo said.

"The last couple years, we've been trying to make ourselves a better team, do harder dances, raise the level of our abilities, and they're just worried about the numbers."

grossts@sbu.edu