Grand Valley State University’s Dance Troupe (GVDT) recently had their end of the semester recital, “Dance Among the Stars,” which took place last week. This recital was made possible by the dancers’ commitment, as well as the eboard who works tirelessly to make this experience enjoyable and fun for all of the dancers. 

Jillian Ferry, the current Vice President of GVDT, has found a home within this group, describing it as “her place” ever since she walked up to the campus life night booth seven semesters ago. 

“From the moment I walked up to the booth at campus life night, I knew that Dance Troupe is where I wanted to be, especially because it is student-run,” Ferry said. 

As vice president, Ferry is a key component of the group. Some of her tasks are getting the cast party set up, acquiring the apparel, helping out the president when needed and reaching out to supporters, such as family and friends. Joining the eboard was important to Ferry because she wanted to give back to the organization that made her feel like part of a community her freshman year. 

Along with these responsibilities, Ferry also choreographed a dance for the recital, an intermediate jazz piece to “Jealousy, Jealousy” by Olivia Rodrigo. This dance is the fourth choreography that she has contributed to the recital over the past few years. 

Sierra Barnes, a dancer as well as the treasurer, joined GVDT her freshman year at GVSU and is now a senior. She is used to choreographing contemporary and lyrical pieces for the group, but last year also introduced high heels dances. This year, she is teaching a hip-hop mix piece inspired by Britney Spears hit songs, named “Free Britney,” in commemoration of Spears’s long battle against her conservatorship. 

Barnes joined GVDT because of its informality and non-competitive nature, which contrasts the previous dance teams she was a part of in high school. 

“Dance Troupe is super fun, super informal, you make your own schedule and you don’t even have to worry about auditioning,” Barnes said. “You can learn a new dance you’ve never learned in the past.”

Taylor Jancsi, the Human Resources eboard member, also joined GVDT because of its fun and lighthearted nature. 

“I was drawn to Dance Troupe not only because of the girls in it specifically but also because it was a non-competitive organization,” Jancsi said.

Jancsi was in charge of picking the organization that the group will be supporting during their recital this year. The girls get to choose which organizations they are interested in and after narrowing it down to the top two, eboard gets to pick which one would work best with them this semester.

This year, the group chose to support North Star Reach, Michigan’s only barrier-free summer camp that welcomes children facing health challenges. This choice was meant to honor a former dancer, who passed away this summer, and had been a volunteer at the camp. 

GVDT is a student-led organization that caters to and welcomes everyone interested in dancing. The easiest way to reach out would be through direct messaging their Instagram @dancetroupeofgvsu as well as attending Campus Life Night at the beginning of the semester. More information is also available on their website dancetroupeofgvsu.com. 

“Dance Troupe is open to absolutely anyone, whether you have been dancing your entire life or never danced before,” Jancsi said. “We would love to see everyone’s beautiful faces next semester.”