United in Dance

By: Natalia Ribeiro Behind the awards is a team of dedication, hard work, and practice.

You might have seen them at sports games or heard about them through social media. But how much do you know about the university’s award-winning dance team?

The dance team has been around since 1988, when it used to be called FAU Motion at that time. The program took a break and returned in 1996. The team calls the dancers Fly Girls, as the university’s spirit program consists of both the cheerleading and dance team. Although cheer and dance teams are under the same program name, the teams aren’t mixed together.

“It began under the direction of Anessa Castello,” said head dance coach and spirit coordinator Claudia Soto, who is an alumna. “She was also my coach, my first year.”

While COVID-19 has made the season different for the dancers, they learned to not take anything for granted. Due to the pandemic last year, they were not able to compete at their Nationals competition. Nationals are basically a competition where the team will compete against different college dance teams from around the country.

“It’s so important to always be in the moment and [be] thankful for the opportunity that we have to dance,” said team captain Trinity Kueter. “You never really know what tomorrow holds.”

The team has gained recognition in the past couple years. Three of the last four seasons had the team place in the top five in the nation at the National Dance Alliance (NDA) competition.

“Our highest placement was second in 2018,” said Soto. “That is pretty awesome as a coach to see them succeed.”

Potential and a strong foundation in dance are two aspects that the team looks for in prospective dancers.

3rd year veteran and co-captain Annalise Calvert performs during the 2020 season. Photo Courtesy of FAU Dance Team.

“What we do want to make sure is that they have the potential to get to the point of all being similar dancers,” said Soto. “It’s really kind of individual potential.”

Throughout the Fall semester, the dancers commit anywhere from 10 to 12 hours of practice per week, in addition to any of their game performances. In the Spring semester, hours range from 12 to 14 as the dancers practice for their performance at nationals.

“It just really depends on how much practice you need and how caught up we are,” said Soto.

The dancers learn a variety of styles throughout their season. Hiphop and pom for entertainment performances at sports games and jazz for nationals.

“I think we’re a well rounded team,” said Soto.

It’s performances like the nationals routine that will get dancers to try-out, according to Kuether. After her sister showed her the FAU Dance Team 2018 Nationals Video, their performance inspired her to try-out for the team.

“I [didn’t] know if I was gonna make it but I wanted to try out,” said Kueter. “I’m super happy that I did because it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

For second-year member Elizabeth Machado, the dance team is the reason they chose to attend the university. “I had heard great things about the program and following them on social media [,] it really solidified that I did want to come here and try out for the team,” said Machado. “It’s one of the top reasons I came here.”

While being part of a team requires a lot of hard work and commitment, the memories the dancers and coaches make are priceless.

“My favorite memory was taking the nationals stage in 2019,” said Kueter. “That’s been one of the most amazing experiences, that feeling is probably one I’ll never forget.”

For a dance team coach, the dancers are students first and then athletes. Seeing them graduate is an accomplishment in itself.

“One of the biggest accomplishments is watching them be a college graduate at the end,” said Soto.

It also helps knowing that a former team member got a big opportunity. Alumna Rachel Marshy graduated in 2020 and is now a cheerleader for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the most recent Super Bowl earlier this year.

Machado is extremely proud that Marshy was able to be a part of the dance team in her college days.

“It’s just very eye opening that even though it is dance, so many other doors and opportunities may fly open that you might not get to experience without being a member of this team.” Machado said.

Meet the Women in Student Government

SG representatives advocate for female empowerment, representation in politics.

A few of the women representatives of the Student Government (SG) have chosen to speak out about their passions and inspirations in honor of Women’s History Month.

Rules and Policies Committee Chairwoman Samantha Malone, Rules and Policies Committee Rep. Nicole Abreu, and Ways and Means Rep. Jami Meyer are speaking out about what it means and the challenges that come with being a woman in the field of politics.

Meyer started in Student Government in the fall of 2020, and she says she hasn’t seen any inequitable opportunities in terms of gender disparities but Meyer explained that she faced subtle issues of gender within the classroom.

“There has been a bit of mansplaining, just because I am a business major, and it is more male-dominated,” said Meyer.

Despite facing subtle instances of gender disparities in the classroom, Meyer explained that the necessity for women to be in political and business roles is important for representation.

“I haven’t seen any women in student government try to be the Speaker of the House, at all. I feel like if there was a woman as the Speaker of the House, it would open up so many doors for women here at FAU in leadership positions. I’ve only ever seen two speakers, and from what I have heard they’ve all been guys, I haven’t heard about a female speaker, pro tempore, or parliamentarian,” said Meyer.

Malone’s experience in student government is fueled by her ambition to advocate for the representation of women of color in politics. From the moment she met Florida Senator Audrey Gibson at a young age, not only did she see a representation of herself, but the opportunities that could pave the way for inclusion in politics.

According to Catalyst, a global nonprofit organization that aims to build better workplaces for women, women hold 27.1% of the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives while men hold 72.9%. Women hold 24% of the seats in the Senate while men hold 76%. Malone echoed a similar sentiment on the lack of women in SG being represented as speakers, pro tempore, and parliamentarians. She consciously changes her tone of speech in an attempt to get certain points across to the men in the room.

“I have many ideas, and I do get my point across. I feel like when I say things, I have to say them in a way, where it isn’t demanding, but nice. I feel like [the voices of men in Student Government] carry a little stronger across the house,” Malone said. “Especially since our speaker is a male, our parliamentarian is a male, and our pro tempore is a male. Their voices carry a lot stronger across the House.”

However, Malone explained that she has not faced any hurtful remarks based on her gender or race. She insisted that the men in the student government are not only inclusive but also trying to learn more along the way to be both collaborative and supportive in the space for all members.

By: Gillian Manning & Darlene Antoine

Meet the Women Abreu joined SG this spring and while she didn’t intend to have a career in public service, she now finds the idea much more attractive than she would have even a year ago.

Becoming more involved in her campus community has inspired Abreu to use her passion for mathematics to pursue a career in economics or within the federal government.

“I want to find something that I can use to positively benefit my community,” said Abreu.

From her current position she hopes to encourage others to get involved with campus activities and promote mental health awareness and advocacy.

“I think it’s really important,” said Abreu. “I think that getting involved with clubs and organizations can help mental health.”

Part of her efforts to promote mental health has been organizing an event scheduled to take place in April called Destroy the Stigma in partnership with the Psychoeducational Programming club, also known as PEP Talk.

Abreu’s discussions are already impacting how her fellow colleagues in the House of Representatives talk about mental health.

“It opened up the floodgates for the House to be very open,” she said and explained that their conversations have made it more common for representatives to discuss their schoolwork and how they are feeling. “Just be yourself...Don’t be afraid to take action and if you want to do something, just jump on it. Don’t let anybody convince you that you can’t do it,” said Abreu.

According to the United Nations, 119 countries have never had a woman as their leader, and currently, women serve as Heads of State or Government in 22 countries. Catalyst states that women hold 142 seats out of the 535 in the U.S. Congress.

When asked about why women are still behind in terms of representation and inclusion in the field of politics, Malone pointed out that the concept of fear has a strong influence over societal expectations.

“Women are still definitely a minority in politics because of this fear from opposing groups. The fear that they have for women because women are very impactful. We do make the change, and we are very influential to all different groups no matter the age, gender, or race,” Malone said.

Rules and Policies Comittee Rep. Nicole Abreu. Photo courtesy of Abreu.

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