Sunday, March 24 marked the end of the six-hour Sunday dance practices, competitions, and a successful year for Ryerson’s Dance Pak.

The team, which is made up of 13 members in different years and programs, trained all school year for three competitions. The team would meet twice a week: every Sunday and once throughout the week.

Their dedication and hard work paid off. In the first competition on March 9 and 10 at the University Dance Challenge in Guelph, the team placed first and second in the large group competitions. Their solo performances earned them fifth and seventh place, and their trio performance received third place.

The second competition, called the Strive Dance Challenge, took place the weekend after in Brantford, but didn’t go as well. The team did not place in any of their performances.  

“It was a little discouraging,” says assistant captain Victoria Vieira, a third-year psychology student. “It really made us have to fight for what we wanted and really rehearse harder and practise.”

The team’s coach, Krista Burke, encouraged the students to use that competition as motivation for the next one. She would tell the team, “You need to fight for it. Work harder. Just live on the stage.”  

And by the third competition, the Rhythm Dance University Challenge in Brantford on March 23 and 24, the Pak came back to life. 

 The team had a redeeming performance during their third competition, earning both choreography and judges’ choices awards.

“We had gotten first place overall for our large group, our trio had gotten second place overall and our small group did really well as well,” says Ana Pesic, the team’s other assistant captain and a fourth-year criminal justice student. “Finding out that one of our marks was the third highest in the entire competition, we went nuts. It was great.”

But for Pesic, it wasn’t all about the competitions. Her favourite moments of the year came when the team was preparing to perform at one of Ryerson’s sporting events.

“Just to get pumped up, we put on “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore ... and we all just busted out dancing,” she says. “It was such a good bonding moment to get hyped up before one of the games.”

The Dance Pak will be losing four of its members this year. Its captain, Shawna Halikas, is graduating this year, and three of the team members who are dance majors will have no time to do any extra-curricular dancing next year.

“We’re just hoping that after auditions, the girls that do join the team next year, we bond as close with them,” says Pesic.

Auditions for new members are usually on the Sunday after the first week of fall semester. The assistant captains will discuss the details with their coach over the summer. The team will most likely stay small, with Pesic and Vieira hoping to keep the number at 13.

For more information on the Dance Pak, head to their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ryersondancepak.