The Marshall University dance team means more than just a regular dance team to juniors Elizabeth Allenger and Hannah Price. It is a sense of family and it feels like home at Marshall University.

“I love the hominess of Marshall and its campus,” Allenger said. “I love the people here. I decided to (join) the dance team because it was my main criteria for looking for a school. I had seen other schools that didn’t have a dance program at all, or it was combined with cheer.”

Third-year head coach Laura Phillips has strived to get the dance team known and recognized at Marshall. 

“For the longest time (we were looked upon as) the JV cheerleaders, a part of cheer and not (our) own entity,” Phillips said. “We have really worked trying hard to establish the difference and getting the girls to be able to do the amount of stuff that cheer(leaders) get to do and be recognized.”

As for Price, she had known she wanted to be a part of the Marshall dance team since she was nine years old. She has been dancing since she was three years old.

“I actually decided when I was nine years old, I was going to come and be on Marshall’s dance team,” Price said. “That was my brother’s freshman year and two of his really good friends from high school were on the dance team. They danced at my studio and were the big girls when I was little.”

Price remembers coming to Marshall’s homecoming parade that year and her brother’s friends ran up to her. She then looked at her mother and told her that she wanted to be on the dance team for Marshall and do what they were doing.

Being on the dance team has brought Allenger and Price opportunities to dance at football and basketball games, but the two also have gained skills such as time management, friendships and working together with different people.

“You need to learn how to work together to make a good team and a uniformed team,” Price said.

Allenger said that she has not only gained friendships but has learned to develop conversational skills.

“It’s almost kind of like being a PR person by just having to chat with different types of people (with) different ages and everything,” Allenger said.

Coach Phillips has made an impact on the dance team with the time and effort she puts in to make the team be successful.

“Our coach is really awesome,” Allenger said. “She dedicates a lot of her time to this (team). It would be a different experience if we didn’t have such a passionate coach.”

The Marshall University dance team is looking to get more people interested in joining the team.

“(We just want to get more people realizing that) There is a dance team at Marshall,” Phillips said. “Anything we can do to get (the) dance team more prominent on the Marshall campus would be awesome. I’m sure there are a lot more dancers out there that know we have a dance team.”

Taylor Huddleston can be contacted at [email protected].