What it Takes to be a Golduster
Dancing at the collegiate level for a Big Ten school: it’s memorizing a new dance every week, it’s keeping a smile on your face for an entire eight-hour game day, and it’s icing your muscles afterwards to make sure you can do it all again next week. Although being a part of Purdue’s Golduster Dance Team certainly comes with its challenges, it also comes with countless memories, rewarding moments, and lifelong friends that enhance the college experience. But what exactly does it take to be a Golduster?
One of the most challenging parts of dancing as a Golduster is memorizing a new halftime dance for each show and making sure all of the other routines are performance-ready at any moment as well. New members on the team especially are introduced to a lot of material at the beginning of the season, so it is even more difficult for them to keep routines straight. When asked about what strategies they use to memorize dances, almost every current Golduster responded with repetition. Sophomore Hannah Ortman said she memorizes by using “Lots of repetition and practicing in the mirror with other teammates to match my dancing style to theirs to have a more uniform look.” Freshman Peyton James added, “I separate it into sections and go through each one until I know it. Then, I’ll go through it all together.”
One specific benefit to Goldusters is earning two course credits each semester. This credit accounts for daily rehearsals in the fall, the less-frequent spring practice times, and performance times. Memorizing, choreographing, and additional outreach performances also take up time outside of practice. Therefore, Goldusters must be able to balance a wide range of difficult majors with choreographing, practicing, and other performances.Industrial engineering senior Emma McAlister said “[Goldusters] sometimes requires getting up a little earlier, but I think a busier schedule helps me to focus and use my time efficiently when working on homework and studying. Kate Giglio, a senior studying family and consumer sciences education, added the advice “Take time aside and treat it like an important class.” Overall, Goldusters acts as both an academic course that can allow for both marching band members and auxiliary units to earn credit for doing an activity they are passionate about. Additonally, it serves as a mental break from schoolwork and allows for opportunities to meet people in a wide range of majors.
Still think you’ve got what it takes to be a Golduster? Not only do we invite you to participate in our auditions, but we also offer a pre-audition clinic. This is an opportunity to learn “Hail Purdue” and an example of an audition dance, receive personal feedback and advice pertaining to auditioning, and meet the current team.
Although the preparation that goes into participating in Goldusters or any dance team essentially culminates to the audition day, it’s extremely important to note that these athletes have been preparing for years to have this opportunity. In fact, the average age at which current members on the Golduster Dance Team began dancing was four years old.
Audition requirements typically include having strong fundamentals in styles such as jazz, pom, and hip-hop. Notable skills to practice include double and triple pirouette, a la seconde fouette turns, leg holds, and various leaps such as turning discs, surprise leaps, and calypsos. However, performance quality and showmanship are also extremely important in the audition process. Current Goldusters are also great resources for advice on how to make the most out of audition day. Three-year member junior Brittany Gallarneau said, “You are your toughest critic. The judges are there to find dancers who perform the routines well, but they’re also looking for performers who look like they’re enjoying what they’re doing. A genuine smile is half the battle, so don’t be too hard on yourself and have fun!” New member freshman Payton Fine offered the advice, “Don’t only bring your best dancing game, but come and show your true personality. Don’t be shy and make sure you ask questions!” Lastly, senior captain and four-year member Dayna Tanner said, “Be YOU! Show off what you can do as a dancer, really work those sections of the choreography you remember, show them your personality through your performance and, most importantly, show them why you deserve to be on this team!”
Although Goldusters is definitely a time-consuming activity, it is worth the long-lasting friendships, unforgettable memories, and the initial reaction of making the team for the first time. Senior member Lauren Waddington said, “[When I made the team for the first time], I was beyond excited! I had dreamed of being on the team for so long so when I finally made it, I was so happy.” Freshman Malaya Atisso added, “I was so happy, I cried! It was the end of the day of auditions, so I was exhausted. It was just a relief to know that your hard work paid off!” After making the team, the amazing opportunities and memories to come are inevitable and definitely worth the hard work.
