CU dance team leaps towards success

There are several dance teams on campus, each one with a different association. The CU Express dance team performs at CU Varsity athletic events. The Gold Rush dance line performs with the band at football half-times. However, there is one team with less performance opportunity and larger than life goals.

The CU Buff Gold Dance team is the club sports dance team on campus. Buff Gold is made up of twenty-two dancers, which means it will be costly to send the team to nationals, and the team receives no funding from the university.

"The team’s goal is always to go to nationals and to fundraise as much as possible because we have to pay for everything ourselves," said Allison Sweeney, senior captain of the Buff Gold Dance Team.

Buff Gold needs $30,000 to go to nationals. Some of their fundraising efforts have included bake sales, car washes and dance camps. The team plans to distribute flyers to offer babysitting services for the holiday shopping season.

Once the money is made, the odds are still against the team at nationals. They will be competing against Varsity dance teams from other universities, many of which receive more money and support from their schools.

The Buff Gold coach and captains are all CU students. The leaders are faced with the challenges and responsibilities of running a team in addition to the stress of their own lives and school work. Most of the girls have been dancing their whole lives, so the balance between school and dance comes as second nature.

"I’ve been dancing since I was three," said Sweeney. "It is a way to be expressive and creative and forget about everything else in your life."

The team will attend the United Spirit Association's Collegiate Cheer and Dance Nationals this February in Anaheim, CA.

For more on the Buff Gold Dance Team go to:
www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/dance

For more on USA's Collegiate Nationals go to: www.varsity.com/competitions/