Blazing Through

Quick pic before I run out the door

This past weekend I said goodbye to my Corvallis friends, moved to the Portland area, and participated in the Blazer Dancers workshop. Needless to say it was a busy week, but it feels great to dance again in my hometown. The workshop was successful, it was in downtown Portland and had about 50 people in each of the two workshops, for a total of 100 beautiful young dancers. With only 16 spots available, it seems like the odds are against me from the start, the only way to put the odds back on my side is to convince them that I'm the perfect candidate for the job.

The workshop is designed to help prepare the dancers for the actual auditions, which are in another month. During this month I know there are a lot for me to work on, primarily learning choreography quickly. They teach fast, which I didn't think I'd have a problem with, but with so many talented ladies you're competing against, you need to be at the top of your game.

One tip I'll give to future Blazer Dancer hopefuls is this; it's important to tone your body, but don't forget about trying to strengthen your neck as well. I know this seems like a silly tip but I wasn't prepared for all the 'hairography' involved and woke up the next morning barely able to move my head.

I'm so excited for the auditions (and also horribly nervous), but more than anything I'm thankful for the opportunity to have this audition and know that even if nothing ends up happening with it, I gave it my all and learned a few things along the way.

A Common Step

Last week, on the front page of the Oregon State website, there was an article on my dance team! The article come out beautifully discussing all the different styles of dance OSU has to offer. It was written by the amazing Tayler Worrell, and I was featured in both the article and the YouTube video.

Here's a taste of the article, for the full article and video, click on the links above.

Elite Dance Team Captain Rachel Kelly arrives early to the studio to warm up and stretch, but the moment she clicks on the music and begins to move, a passion for dance shines through in her mirrored reflection. She floats elegantly across the floor. A few minutes later, her team is ready to practice. She leads them with as much passion as she has for dancing alone.
“It is a sport that requires endurance, flexibility, beauty and grace,” says Kelly. “Dancing is a way of communication for me.”
Kelly studies nutrition in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences and minors in Spanish. She started dancing at 14, and is now the captain of the Elite Dance Team at Oregon State. Kelly will soon graduate and plans to pursue dance outside of college.

“I took a modern dance [physical activity course] class when I was a freshman, and a bunch of people from that class tried out for the Elite Dance Team that year, but I didn’t think I was good enough,” Kelly says. “So I tried out my sophomore year, ended up making the team, and have done it ever since.”
Established in 2005, the Elite Dance Team practices technique and performance style in modern, hip-hop and jazz. Currently, the team has 30 members, both male and female, from Oregon State’s 12 undergraduate academic colleges. Beyond practicing twice a week and performing at several events per term, these dancers find ways to combine their studies with their extracurricular activities. 

At the beginning of the year nutrition majors partnered with the Elite Dance Team to organize a flash mob promoting healthy eating, allowing Kelly to combine her passions for dance and nutrition.
“We worked with Be Well and the Elite Dance Team to create a campaign to eat more fruits and vegetables.” Kelly says. “We handed out bananas and carrots to all the people that were watching us. It was a great way to integrate both nutrition and dance.”

End of the final year

This last week I had my final dance performance with the OSU Elite dance team. After three years on this team I can't believe it's all over. The performance was in the Memorial Union Ballroom, which was the perfect send off because that is the same place I auditioned for the team three years ago. The event we were performing at was one for high school administrators to come and see what Oregon State has to offer for future students.

We performed to Micheal Jackson's "Slave to the Rhythm," and did an MJ inspired routine. The fun part was the host of the event wanted to dance with us! This was a fun challange, I had to figure out a way to show these high school administrators what we are all about while incorporating Carl, the host, into the dance. What I ended up doing was having Carl perform an easy 30 seconds with us in the beginning and then also at the end of the routine. It worked out nicely because Carl had such a playful attitude about it which put a smile on everyone's face. Overall, it was a great night and a perfect way to end the season, couldn't have asked for anything more.

A couple days before our last performance the team had a photo shoot. It was scheduled to be outside, but of course it started raining, so we had to move it into the studio, which ended up working out and the mirrors in the background were actually pretty cool. These are some of my favorite pictures.