Dancing alone: UNT dance team continues virtual workouts as chance at national title thwarted
Featured in the Denton Record-Chronicle, April 30, 2020
North Texas Dancers, 2019
(DENTON, Texas – April 30, 2020) For the fourth time in a week, Sydney Reinacher entered her empty dance studio, propped up her phone, and took a deep breath as she tried to embrace what appeared to be her new norm.
She and the rest of the North Texas Dancers had their competition season cut short when the COVID-19 pandemic quickly took over the planet. The University of North Texas suspended all athletic activities March 12, just weeks before Reinacher and the team were set to compete in Daytona Beach, Florida. She is now using apps like Instagram and Zoom to stay virtually connected to her team and her passion.
“This was my last chance,” Reinacher said. “Last year was my first year to compete and it was really tough for me going through that nationals season.”
As she prepared to teach herself a new routine, she noticed how quiet the studio was around her. Her only companions being the music and blinking red light on her phone, she began her warm up in the empty room. After a lifetime of dancing, she found herself feeling prepared but apprehensive.
Reinacher, 22, transferred to the University of North Texas from Texas State University in the fall of 2018, where she held leadership positions on their official dance team, the Strutters. She started attending UNT at the beginning of her junior year, hoping she would have two chances at a national championship title before graduation. Now, closing-out her senior year as Dance Captain of her new team, that last opportunity was seized.
“This year I grew so much and found myself feeling like I was on a different level of mental toughness and ready to take on Daytona,” Reinacher said.
The North Texas Dancers returned to the National Dance Alliance Collegiate National Championship in 2017 after a seven year hiatus with new head coach, Brittani Richards. Richards’ vision was to rebuild the squad into a competitive dance team, rather than just a sideline addition for football and basketball games. In 2019, the team advanced to the final round of the Division IA Jazz national championship for the first time in program history, placing 16th overall and further raising organization standards.
“We don’t get to feel the reward of all of our hard work,” Reinacher said. “We put a lot into practice and sacrificed a lot of time and energy and it feels a bit like it was all taken away.”
Fortunately, apps like Zoom and Instagram have made staying connected and active easy for the North Texas Dancers. In addition to their Zoom team calls every Monday and Wednesday at 8 a.m., Richards’ provides each dancer opportunities to speak with her one-on-one, making sure to attend to the needs of each individual.
The North Texas Dancers have also implemented virtual challenges on their Instagram page, making it easy for members and fans to stay engaged, connected, and active. These challenges include team workouts, sharing favorite memories of the season, and even short dance combinations to learn. Reinacher helped kick off this series by teaching her own choreography March 26 on the team’s IGTV.
“I’m really doing everything possible to find the good in things,” Reinacher said.
She concluded her stretch just as the sun began to set. The time had come for her to learn a routine, but she soon found it much harder to refine her skills and technique having to constantly look at her phone for guidance. This virtual process quickly appeared more time consuming than her normal session in the studio, but there was work to be done.
The program’s annual competition wasn’t the only dance-related aspiration Reinacher looked forward to for the spring. Upon the completion of her 2019-2020 collegiate season, she planned to audition for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, one of the most famous professional dance teams in the country. Now, with the try-out date looming and local stay-at-home mandates still in place, making her dream a reality just became more challenging.
“For a bit, I was considering not trying out because of how confusing and stressful it all is right now,” Reinacher said. “It is hard to feel as prepared as I possibly can be but I’m just taking it one step at a time.”
Like the North Texas Dancers, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have utilized social media during COVID-19 to stay connected to their fans and hopefuls. They have moved their May auditions online, making the try-out process easily accessible from home. With collegiate competition no longer an option, Reinacher’s sights have focused on her professional goals.
She noticed the night had settled once she wrapped up self-teaching. Sweat dripping down her face, she made her way to the lone water fountain in the empty hallway. Usually, she’d be surrounded by many young dancers, their parents, and her fellow instructors following a class, but as she turned off the lights to the studio and locked the front door, she wondered when that normal might return.
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