As twenty-seven
students dressed in sweatpants and T-shirts file into the Miles studio of the
Recreation center, they make an about-face after their president instructs them
to sign in and run laps for warm up.
They are the Rip
Tide Dancers and you’ll get to see them perform soon at the University of
Alabama’s Homecoming step show.
The group is
primarily a hip-hop dance team, but also incorporates contemporary and lyrical
dance.
The president,
Matthew Hutchins, said the dancers also perform per request. Last year, they
performed at an event with Hawaiian themed dances and costumes.
Christina
Webber, whom you may have seen on BET’s Born to Dance competition, started Rip
Tide in 2005, Hutchins said.
He said Webber
looked around UA and noticed a lack of hip-hop dance teams. She decided to
create one to enable dancers to continue the art post-high school.
However, not
just anyone can be apart of this team. Rip Tide will host yearly auditions each
fall to determine admittance of new members.
Syleah Allen,
the group’s public relations manager, said that candidates are not judged
solely on their ability to replicate a one-minute dance but also on the
interview that is held afterwards.
Allen and
Hutchins agree that even if a participant isn’t the best dancer, personality
and passion will take them pretty far in the audition.
Asserting this,
Hutchins pointed out that very few of the members are majoring in dance―a
select three members. Even as the president, Hutchins is majoring in fashion.
The team is bigger than ever this year,
but that has not created a hierarchy of member influence.
Allen said that
the team does everything together, from performances to choreography. They also
practice three times a week for at least three hours.
“Sometimes we’re
here till midnight,” she said.
Allen said the
dancers show the fruits of all their practice at various competitions and
perform as opening acts and features for other performers. This year, the team
hopes to host their own competition at UA, inviting other university teams to
join them for the event.
Membership dues
are $30 and the team also organizes fundraisers to raise money.
Uniforms vary
based on the event and performance type, and the leaders said it is a lot of
fun getting prepared.
Most recently,
the team performed in a flash mob at UA’s Get on Board Day. You may have passed
their table on your way to the Ferguson Center.
If you didn’t
get a chance to see them at Get on Board Day, you can also see their artful
pictures on display in the Ferg window boxes.
They also got
students situated on campus by helping with student move-in days.
If you want to
find out more about the team, you can find them on Facebook under “Rip Tide” or
on Twitter at “Rip Tide Dancers”.
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