Former Lions cheerleader coaches dance team
By Luisa Wiewgorra
lwiewgorra@my.madonna.edu
“I am very excited about all the changes occurring here at Madonna. Being a part of the change can be hard work, but the results will be well worth it,” said Head Coach Angela Moser.
The Madonna Dance Team was founded in 2010 by two students. This year, the team performs at all men’s and women’s basketball home games and will add football to the mix next year.
“What I love most about being on the dance team is that we get to hype up the crowd at the games. That is one of the best things someone could do,” said Parrah Grundy, a Dance major and the team captain of Madonna’s dance team.
“The dance team keeps people engaged in our games. They entertain the crowd and set the tone at halftime to get people going and for us to come out and perform,” says Mark Mettie, a Business major and basketball player at Madonna.
“As dance major, you are having all your technical training during the day and when it is time for the dance team practices, you can use what you learned during the day and put it towards practice,” said Grundy.
The team’s goal is to focus on building an all-around strong team to be ready to compete as a team performing jazz, hip-hop, pop, and contemporary as they are currently transitioning to be an athletic team and expected to compete in 2020.
“We are the beginning of traditions, which is exhilarating,” said Moser. “Now, the ladies are being treated like any other athlete, they are expected to be at all practices, and to cross-train in the gym. Their mind and body need to be strong to execute choreography and so many more skills and tricks.”
Moser studied Dance and General Education at Mercyhurst University and Integrative Studies in Marketing and Advertising from Oakland University. After her studies, she has been an instructor and guest teacher for studios in Metro Detroit, choreographed for numerous competitive teams, and also danced in the NBA for the Detroit Pistons Automotion and in the NFL for the Detroit Lions Cheerleaders.
“I could not imagine not having dance in my life, so I wanted to continue my career by becoming a coach,” said Moser.
“In a regular dance team, you are getting ready to be in front of a crowd and you are trying to help win a game compared to competitive dance where you want to win the competition. What we are doing now prepares us to do just that,” said Grundy.
Even though Grundy will be graduated by the time the team competes, she is looking forward to the team’s future as well as her own. “As a captain, I want to motivate and inspire my teammates to keep going and keep pushing forward, but always having fun with it. We are trying to focus on team building such as team weight room sessions to get better together as well as other team activities,” said Grundy.
“Once I graduate, I would like to go on a cruise ship and dance overseas, so I can experience being overseas, traveling the world, and do what I love – dance. When I come back to the states, I want to move to one of the entertainment capitals such as Atlanta, Georgia, and I want to get into the entertainment business, whether it is dancing, acting, or modeling. Whichever one gets my foot in the door first I will pursue it and I will explore those other talents,” said Grundy.
“I think it is a great opportunity to expand the program. It will add an incentive to becoming better dancers and offers positive exposure,” said Anna Fabus, a Dietetics major and member of the dance team. “Our new coach and captain are very supportive and encourage positivity while working hard to achieve expectations.”
“Being a captain means a lot to me. I know it is kind of superficial for everybody to say he is a captain, but I have always wanted to uplift spirits of people because I know that in the dance world, people get hard on you. They want you to be the best version of yourself as a person as well as a dancer,” said Grundy.
Competing will take the dance team to another level. “The competition is strong in the college dance world, but that is what makes this so exciting - The sky is the limit,” said Moser.
lwiewgorra@my.madonna.edu
“I am very excited about all the changes occurring here at Madonna. Being a part of the change can be hard work, but the results will be well worth it,” said Head Coach Angela Moser.
The Madonna Dance Team was founded in 2010 by two students. This year, the team performs at all men’s and women’s basketball home games and will add football to the mix next year.
“What I love most about being on the dance team is that we get to hype up the crowd at the games. That is one of the best things someone could do,” said Parrah Grundy, a Dance major and the team captain of Madonna’s dance team.
“The dance team keeps people engaged in our games. They entertain the crowd and set the tone at halftime to get people going and for us to come out and perform,” says Mark Mettie, a Business major and basketball player at Madonna.
“As dance major, you are having all your technical training during the day and when it is time for the dance team practices, you can use what you learned during the day and put it towards practice,” said Grundy.
The team’s goal is to focus on building an all-around strong team to be ready to compete as a team performing jazz, hip-hop, pop, and contemporary as they are currently transitioning to be an athletic team and expected to compete in 2020.
“We are the beginning of traditions, which is exhilarating,” said Moser. “Now, the ladies are being treated like any other athlete, they are expected to be at all practices, and to cross-train in the gym. Their mind and body need to be strong to execute choreography and so many more skills and tricks.”
Moser studied Dance and General Education at Mercyhurst University and Integrative Studies in Marketing and Advertising from Oakland University. After her studies, she has been an instructor and guest teacher for studios in Metro Detroit, choreographed for numerous competitive teams, and also danced in the NBA for the Detroit Pistons Automotion and in the NFL for the Detroit Lions Cheerleaders.
“I could not imagine not having dance in my life, so I wanted to continue my career by becoming a coach,” said Moser.
“In a regular dance team, you are getting ready to be in front of a crowd and you are trying to help win a game compared to competitive dance where you want to win the competition. What we are doing now prepares us to do just that,” said Grundy.
Even though Grundy will be graduated by the time the team competes, she is looking forward to the team’s future as well as her own. “As a captain, I want to motivate and inspire my teammates to keep going and keep pushing forward, but always having fun with it. We are trying to focus on team building such as team weight room sessions to get better together as well as other team activities,” said Grundy.
“Once I graduate, I would like to go on a cruise ship and dance overseas, so I can experience being overseas, traveling the world, and do what I love – dance. When I come back to the states, I want to move to one of the entertainment capitals such as Atlanta, Georgia, and I want to get into the entertainment business, whether it is dancing, acting, or modeling. Whichever one gets my foot in the door first I will pursue it and I will explore those other talents,” said Grundy.
“I think it is a great opportunity to expand the program. It will add an incentive to becoming better dancers and offers positive exposure,” said Anna Fabus, a Dietetics major and member of the dance team. “Our new coach and captain are very supportive and encourage positivity while working hard to achieve expectations.”
“Being a captain means a lot to me. I know it is kind of superficial for everybody to say he is a captain, but I have always wanted to uplift spirits of people because I know that in the dance world, people get hard on you. They want you to be the best version of yourself as a person as well as a dancer,” said Grundy.
Competing will take the dance team to another level. “The competition is strong in the college dance world, but that is what makes this so exciting - The sky is the limit,” said Moser.
