Students are preparing to get back into the swing of things with a new semester, and some students will be looking for new clubs or extracurricular activities to try. Just Cuz Crew, one of NC State’s campus dance teams, is looking for anyone who is interested in joining the campus community. The group will be holding tryouts for students to join their team Jan. 11-12.
According to Alex Singleton, a third-year studying accounting and the director of Just Cuz Crew, the first day of tryouts consists of teaching the potential members a simple choreography.
“The second day, they come back and they perform that choreography in large and small groups, and then they have a minimum 10-second solo that they can do to really showcase their individuality and their style, and that can literally be anything,” Singleton said. “They can get the choreography from a video on YouTube, they can get it from us or they can create their own. And then there is the interview at the end.”
Singleton said the crew doesn’t have a quota for how many people can be accepted onto the team.
“It’s whoever we see that has potential that would add to our team and to the dance community here,” Singleton said.
Just Cuz Crew does a variety of styles, from hip-hop to contemporary to ethnic dance, according to Singleton.
“We pretty much do everything based on the demographic that’s on the team,” Singleton said. “So whatever the population that’s on the team currently, that’s what we cater to, because we make our own choreography and our own routines … Whatever type of background experience or whatever the team is interested in, that’s what we perform.”
Singleton said the team has been active on NC State’s campus since 2011 and maintains about 20-30 active members. However, the crew has also done a number of performances outside of NC State’s campus, according to Justin Peterkin, a third-year studying business administration and social chair for Just Cuz Crew.
“Typically we get invited to different showcases throughout the North Carolina dance community,” Peterkin said. “Last semester we went to Entropy, which was hosted by Appalachian State. They had a memorial showcase at UNC, and we did a couple of performances here as well.”
Peterkin said the team will have four shows during the spring 2020 semester.
“This semester we are performing at the Navarasa showcase, which is primarily for the Indian community here, but they invited us as a guest performance,” Peterkin said. “Then we have our Fusion performance, which is another one of our dance teams at NC State … Then we have our own showcase, which is coming up on April 18. We are going to perform dances we have done throughout the semester as well as some new things. And our very last performance is probably going to be Entropy, which again is going to be at App State.”
To join the group, Singleton said students don’t need to have any kind of dancing experience to try out.
“I personally didn’t come from a dance experience coming into college,” said Singleton. “It was something I really wanted to do, that I was passionate about … Community with our team is a really big thing and making sure that you feel welcome. We are like a family, honestly. We spend a lot of time together, so we develop close bonds, and it has transformed my college experience for the better. If you are remotely thinking about dancing, or want to join a family or join a community, then you should come out.”
