Dance team joins Mercer Athletics

Student and faculty demand has prompted the introduction of a dance team to Mercer Athletics. Spirit Coordinator for Athletics, Penny Davis, has recognized the need for an established extracurricular dance program on Mercer’s campus.
Students responded to the announcement of dance team tryouts when a preliminary meeting was held to introduce prospective team members to key players in the athletics department.
“We encourage anyone with dance skills and an interest to help us take dance to the next level at Mercer,” said Davis.
Auditions are set for Sunday, Sept. 11 from 2-6 p.m. Students wanting to audition should plan to stay the entire time, and will receive breaks intermittently. Dancers should dress to move, wear jazz shoes or socks, and bring water.
Davis described the ideal dance team member: “At the auditions, we’ll be looking for dancers who are technically trained: pointed feat, good turnout. Our minimum requirement is a double pirhouette, front and side leaps. Of course, dancers with fouettes, switch leaps and any tumbling skills are a plus. All in all, we’re looking for dancers who master the choreography and make it look easy and fun.”
A high demand for dance has been driving artistic expression on the Mercer Macon campus for years. Student organizations like Mac Town Breakers, Mercer Dance Revolution, A.G.A.P.E., Ballroom Dance Club, and Chatmakaar are just a few examples of the student dance organizations integrated into Mercer’s co-curricular agenda.
Performance opportunities for the dance team include timeouts for various athletic events, basketball games in particular.
“We’re really pushing for a bigger, more festive atmosphere at Mercer basketball games. Our goal this year is to make every Mercer athletic event a memorable experience,” Davis said. “There’s a lot of potential for future growth with the dance team at Mercer. We’d like to be able to compete on regional as well as national levels. There’s really no limit to how many dancers can perform on the team, as long as they have the skills and technique we require,” she added.
Ms. Penny, as she is fondly known by her colleagues, has high hopes for the program. She anticipates dance team being picked up by Mercer Athletics within the next academic year.