 "Photo: Photos Courtesy of Meagan Link")
 "Photo: Photos Courtesy of Meagan Link")
The Gonzaga Dance Team usually focuses on their own routine, but over the weekend they got a chance to serve the community and be teachers as well.
Young dancers from around the Spokane area came to Gonzaga for the opportunity to learn a dance routine from the Gonzaga Dance Team, when they held their ninth annual Kids Clinic in the Martin Centre on Jan. 16. Each girl that participated in the clinic learned a routine from GU Dance Team members, received a T-shirt and lunch, as well as participating in a fun craft. Cost of admission was $35.
The all-girl clinic was a sea of dancers all matched in blue T-shirts. The girls were split up into different groups and each group learned a different dance.
“Right now we are learning a dance to Justin Bieber, one of my favorite artists,” said Mary Smith, an 11-year-old sixth grader from Trinity Catholic School. This was her second year at the clinic.
“I heard about it last year in the news bulletin,” Smith said. “It’s a lot of fun and I think it’s a great opportunity because I don’t dance, but I get to come here and dance and make some new friends,” Smith said.
Diana Murphy is also an 11-year-old sixth grader from Trinity Catholic School.
“This is my second year, too. This year we are doing different dances and we each get different teachers and learn new moves,” she said.
While the young dancers enjoy the opportunity to get involved with the dance team, team members see other advantages along with getting involved in the community.
“The dance team puts the clinic on as one of its big fundraisers for the year,” co-captain of the dance team, junior Rachel Boswell, said. “It’s completely student run, the money raised goes toward uniforms and traveling.”
But more than anything, the team enjoys getting a chance to be a presence in the Spokane-area, according to team sources.
“This event is a good way to interact with the community and the kids,” Boswell said.
Sixty girls participated in the clinic this year according to senior co-captain Meagan Link. The girls got the chance to learn a routine during the day, and they will perform that routine with the team during halftime of the women’s basketball game.
The Dance Team is proud of what the clinic accomplished, but needed help from people not on the team, according to Link.
“We had a bunch of student volunteers, we really couldn’t do it without them. We also get a lot of help from out advisers,” Link said.
The third co-captain, sophomore Katie McCoy, spoke about the students attending the clinic.
“The girls come from mostly Catholic schools in the area, but also from Shaw Middle School as well. The ages range from four to 14,” McCoy said.
The students benefit from the clinic, not only do they receive a dance lesson, but they also get a chance to meet other girls their age with a similar interest in dance.
“I learned that everyone has talent but maybe sometimes they just don’t show it. It’s a lot of fun,” Murphy said.
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