In the stuffy multipurpose rooms of the CRCE from 6:45 – 8 p.m., sorority members come from houses near and far in Champaign-Urbana to bond over their collective love of dance.
As the only dance team affiliated with Greek life on campus, Vitality offers an opportunity to continue dancing in college with a lower commitment. Student-run and choreographed, Vitality focuses on performing small group dances to hip hop in the fall, performed at fraternity houses, and a recital with multiple dance styles in the spring.
Ally Shapiro, a freshman in Business, joined Vitality to get back into dancing after not having performed since eighth grade.
“So far, my favorite memory has been when we went to our first practice,” Shapiro said. “I got to see how welcoming everybody was, and saw the community I’ll be with for the next four years.”
Vitality’s focus in the fall semester is on serenades, where smaller groups create short dances around 45 seconds to a minute in length. The group’s dances are stitched together, and Vitality performs at fraternity houses to bring dance to Greek life spaces.
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Vitaly performs these serenades exclusively to hip-hop songs, though the recital in the spring features all genres of dance. It’s a team effort for the dancers and student choreographers to utilize their rehearsal time efficiently to prepare for their performances.
“I’ve danced my whole life and knew a bunch of older girls in Vitality, so I decided to try out,” said Reese Baer, a sophomore in ACES. “Dancing for the frats was a very memorable moment. I am looking forward to another year in the club because I have a long way to go.”
Vitality team president and senior in LAS, Ana Raquel, oversees all the executive positions in the RSO. She works to put together the serenades in the fall and the spring showcase, held at Lincoln Hall and featuring all styles of dance.
“I didn’t join Vitality until my sophomore year, leaving high school and dancing,” Raquel said. “I didn’t think I would find that here. I had girls in my sorority who encouraged me to try out. I’m glad they did. It has made my college experience.”
Despite being a low-commitment alternative to continue dancing, a successful Vitality serenades day requires dedication from the entire team.
For the serenades, the team of 50 girls splits into smaller groups of around 10 girls, who are led by team members who elect to showcase their choreography. The two-hour and 15-minute rehearsals are split between the groups, meaning the girls have to find time outside of rehearsal to bond as a team.
“I honestly love to do the serenades,” Raquel said. “We go to a bunch of different houses, and it’s a long day. We start around four or five, and don’t end until nine. It’s the most exhausting but most rewarding thing. And you have so many supporters.”
Jessica Arens, a junior in Media, joined Vitality to bond with her sorority sisters, but found herself branching out and bonding with girls from across the Panhellenic Council.
“We do a lot of team bonding,” Arens said. “And my favorite one was freshman year when we did family reveals. So all of us were put with a senior, junior and sophomore, and that was super memorable and fun.”
Besides family reveals, the team members bond through social events planned by a social chair, spread throughout the season.
“I’ve personally met so many new girls from different houses through Vitality,” Baer said. “I’ve gotten to build more friendships, which has been so fun.”
Those interested in joining Vitality can attend an informational session with a clinic held before tryouts. The team holds tryouts at the beginning of both the fall and spring semesters.
“It’s the best trickle effect being on the team,” Raquel said. “You look around and suddenly you have 50 new best friends.”
