Club Spotlight: ‘Nova Nassa

time. Sophomore co-captain Swetha Saravanakumar stresses how much effort the team puts into their practices.

“In the week leading up to a competition, we practice all day on the weekends and have four hour practices on the weekdays,” Saravanakumar explained.

Nassa is expecting two more competitions in April, so it is taking the next two months to prepare by revamping its marketing and branding. The teams Nassa competes against are big-name teams, so Nassa wants to be as prepared as possible for the national competitions.

Saravanakumar has been dancing since she was eight years old and was trained in Bharatanatyam, which is an Indian classical dance style. She auditioned for Nassa her freshman year and is in her first year of co-captainship.

“Dancing is something that has played a big role in my life, so being able to stay in touch with it in college is something I enjoy,” Saravanakumar said. “My favorite part is definitely being able to do something I love, while getting to share that with a group of people that is like family to me.” never met otherwise.”

Saravanakumar is grateful that Nassa allows her to have an escape from the hard work of college to focus her energy into dancing.

Gallagher also spoke about one of her favorite memories with Ren.

“Ren went abroad super early on in our relationship, and I was able to visit him over spring break,” she said. “We traveled around Italy for a week, and it was so amazing to have that experience together. Being so early on in our relationship, long distance and this trip helped us learn so much about each other and strengthened our relationship more than I ever thought possible.”

In regards to Yantis’ perspective, Gallagher was asked if she believed in the phrase “opposites attract.”

“I definitely believe in opposites attract, but Ren and I are pretty similar,” she said. “It’s been so fun to learn about what we’re each passionate about and grow to share those interests together.”

These two lovebirds are so wholesome and are sure to put a smile on your face. So, whether you plan to celebrate Galentine’s Day or Valentine’s Day this week, buy that box of chocolate and embrace the season of love. Take the advice from Dr. Yantis, because who knows, maybe you will meet that special someone that has been right in front of you all this time.

She hopes to continue dancingduring her time at Villanova and beyond.

Saravanakumar sees Nassa expaning greatly in the future. This year, it is already improving after putting in a lot of work with creative ideas and planning. Saravanakumar believes Nassa will make it to Nationals in the coming years.

For now, Nassa is performing at upcoming campus events. It will be performing at the Oak Tree Films Dance Fundraiser on February 23rd, which is a fundraiser for the Nina School for the Deaf. More information about the fundraiser can be found on the Oak Tree Films’ Instagram page.

Anyone interested in auditioning for Nassa should look for its spring competitions. Nassa hosts tryouts exclusively in the fall season so it has as much time as possible to rehearse with new members. It also hosts dance workshops in the fall for anyone auditioning. To stay up to date on Nassa’s competitions and when auditions will be, follow @novanassa on Instagram.