Dance team debuts

by Vicky Martinez
Staff Writer

The Youth College Network has announced that University of La Verne Dance Team is one of colleges selected for initiation this year.

Makayla Benjamin, ULV admissions representative, established the dance team last spring. The team has five members captain including Deanna Reyes, who is one of the pioneers of the dance team.

The YCN is a division of the United States Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association, a non-profit organization with charitable and educational programs that is also recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) as the national governing body for amateur ballroom dancing in the United States.

The mission statement of YCN states, "Our mission is to promote partner dancing among the college students and youth of the United StatesOur dance network is open to all, including ballroom, country-western, salsa, tango, and swing clubs".

The ULV team dance routines include jazz, hip-hop and swing dancing. Benjamin started the ULV dance team because there was on interest among students on campus.

The ULV dance team is a not funded by any ULV organizations, which means every member of this team is responsible for her expenses.

Last year the team attended a competition at University of California, San Diego and was honored the awards of Superior Team and Most Improved Team. Considering the team was just one year old, the improvements are more than satisfactory, Benjamin said.

Because of some injuries, the team was not able to compete at nationals in Las Vegas, last year. Now with the YCN recognition, students on the ULV dance team will be apart of the nation wide network of college dance clubs that includes Stanford University.