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One Big Family

By Casey Fitting

There is one major thing that has stuck out to me in the dance world which I have never seen in any other sport, which is the attitude. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that athletes in other sports have poor attitudes. Rather, other sports maintain a healthy but more extreme level of competition than those in the collegiate ballroom world.

As early as elementary school, we would line up as a softball team and shake hands with the opposing team both before and after games saying "good luck" and "good game." Anybody listening could hear that we wished them no luck. What we really wanted was for them to be just bad enough for us to win. Saying "good game" had as much energy and emotion as apologizing to a sibling because our moms caught us in the act.

High school changed my attitude when I joined competitive team dance. We formed bonds with other teams cheering loudly during their performances. We were happy watching them win, and they were happy watching us do the same. Competition was no longer between enemies, but friends.

In college, I have been a part of four competitions and two ballroom teams (the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and Rochester). Each one has felt the same. Even though we are not competing for a team placement, and instead competing for individual partner placement, the entire team is supportive of each other. The last competition was no exception.
I am a part of the club, not the competition team, with the U of MN Twin Cities. Non-competition members are not typically given the opportunity to compete with the team outside of St. Paul. However, my partner Jordan Quah and I were permitted to take part in the Michigan competition.

I was really excited for the opportunity to compete one more time this semester, but I was also a little concerned. The people on the team seemed wonderful, but I did not know them as well as they knew each other. I was worried I wouldn't fit in. It didn't take me long to realize this concern was a waste of energy, energy I should have spent in practice.
In the days leading up to competition, more members would ask me if I was excited to compete. My partner and I were also invited to join rounds the night before our departure. People seemed genuinely happy we were there practicing with the team. I was going to be competing against many of these people, and rather than making sure I knew we were competing, I was welcomed into the team and given the confidence I needed.

By the time we reached the competition Saturday morning, I felt like part of the team. Before going out onto the dance floor, we would say good luck to our fellow teammates. Even though we were technically competing, we wanted the team to do well.
My partner and I didn't make as many call-backs as we did in a previous competition, but I was happy when I saw my new teammates were advancing. At least people we knew made it further in our level.

I even had one team member tell me that the team was so happy Jordan and I were able to join them at this competition. That every time we would dance past the U of MN's bleacher section, they would get excited and say "Hey, there's Casey and Jordan!" Another member taught me a handshake his little cousin taught him. It took me a while to catch on, but we had some time before line-up. Is there really a better way to bond than a multi-step handshake?

By the time we got back on the bus to go home, I felt like I had always been a part of the team. One long bus trip later, about 14 hours, we arrived back to the U of MN campus, and I no longer felt like part of the team. I felt like part of the family.

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