Cardinal Dance is one of the many clubs offered on campus to students.
Maggie Bird, fourth-year nursing student and president of Cardinal Dance explained more about the club.
“Cardinal Dance is made up of two separate RSOs, Cardinal Grace and Rhythm,” she explained. “Cardinal Grace does ballet, lyrical, and contemporary dance, while Cardinal Rhythm does tap. Some of our dancers are in both clubs, hence why we do several performances together, share an Instagram, and advertise ourselves as Cardinal Dance.”
Hannah Graves, third-year graphic design major and club public relations Chair shared her take on the club.
“So far this semester, we’ve had our auditions and added nine new members to our group,” she said. “ [We have] Created and held several extra optional practices for our newer and less experienced dancers to have a place to learn; replied yes to Halloween Bash as a performing act. As well as submitted for an off-campus performance with The Main Event (Which we had seven girls attend as a group last fall).”
Asking about what they’re looking forward to, Graves was the first to respond,
“This year, I’m looking forward to our annual Scarlet’s Showcase, where we collaborate with other performing arts groups on campus to showcase our hard work to other students, family, and friends. As well as performing on campus at the Halloween Bash and our spring competitions.”
Following Graves’ statement, Bird shared about her goals for the RSO this year.
“So far this semester, we held auditions in early September. This semester we had the biggest turnout for auditions ever,” she said. “We loved how enthusiastic everyone was at auditions, and it was just an overall fun time. Both groups grew a lot with Cardinal Grace at 18 members and Cardinal Rhythm at 11.”
Bird elaborated on the progress of the group.
“So far, we have been working on a contemporary dance to “Sign of the Times” by Harry Styles, a ballet dance, and a really cool tap dance we are excited to show everyone at this year’s Halloween Bash.”
When requesting to learn more about the impact that Cardinal Dance had on their college careers, both were ecstatic to share.
“First,” said Bird. “I want to say if there is anyone interested in joining Cardinal Dance in the future, do it. Cardinal Dance has impacted my educational career by allowing me to continue my passion for dancing while focusing on school.” She continued, saying “We know that education is the reason we are here in college. So, while we do want every member at our once-a-week practice, we also allow members to miss if they have more important things like homework they are behind on or a big exam the next day.”
Bird further reflected on her experience with the group and its impact on her life.
“Cardinal Dance has introduced me to so many of my closest friends at SVSU and really allowed me to explore my creativity with dance,” she said “Don’t be nervous or shy we are an extremely inclusive group of dancers of all different skill levels. While we love to improve our skills, we never put dancers down for having less experience and have even had two members in the past who joined with no experience and are now amazing dancers.”
She also expressed her appreciation for those who have kept the organization running the past few years.
“I would like to thank Jenny Newland and the other returning members who keep this club alive through COVID and all our amazing new members over the past few years who have helped grow it into something amazing.”
Meanwhile, Graves spoke about her experiences with the club.
“Educationally, Cardinal Dance has helped me make friends and connections that offer new opportunities on campus to use my Graphic Design knowledge to create this year’s Forever Red: Student Today, Alumni, Tomorrow, Cardinal Forever t-shirt,” she stated. “Not to forget that it’s a great source of stress relief from my classes. Every Sunday (and the occasional Thursday) [I get to] just go and have fun with my dance girls.”
Graves also expressed her gratitude for the other members of the RSO.“I want to thank my dance girlies for forever making me giggle and giving me the opportunity to keep dancing in college and my parents, who have supported me through my dance career and educational career,” she said. “If you want to find out more about Cardinal Dance, you can check our SVSU Engage page, Instagram @svsu_cardinal_dance, or come check us out at our on-campus performances.”
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