It took more than a fire alarm to stop Dixie State University’s dance team.
The Dixie Blaze Dance Team had its final performance of the semester Thursday at 7 p.m. Toward the end of the team’s showcase, the fire alarm went off for unknown reasons, but the dancers didn’t miss a beat, and they kept dancing through the alarm.
The team started the night accompanied by male partners who they then traditionally waltzed with to the song “How far I’ll go” by Alessia Cara.
The Dixie Blaze showcased dances from the athletic season, which the team usually performed at halftime and on the sidelines of athletic events. Other dance teams, such as Desert Hills Tempest Line and Westside Studio of Performing Arts, performed in between the Dixie Blaze’s dances.
Right before the Dixie Blaze came out for its second-to-last number, and right in the middle of Westside Studio’s number, lights started flashing and sirens began wailing.
“Well, I always hear we have a lot of luck,” said head coach Kori Esplin. “Having it go off during our last dance [performance] and right in the middle of a Michael Jackson number, where everyone thought it was part of the dance, was pretty comical.”
The dancers continued the show despite the blaring fire alarm.
“We just continued with our regular [schedule],” said Sydney Belnap, a freshman dental hygiene major from Cedar City.
“[The fire alarm] made for a fun little change to the program.”The Dixie Blaze is composed of 10 freshmen, two sophomores and one junior. Head coach Kori Esplin said DSU’s transition from a college to a university is still affecting the team.
“In the past, it was just a two-year college, so many of the girls’ majors weren’t here,” Esplin said. “That’s still a little bit of the problem, but I’m starting to have third- and fourth-year members.”
Belnap said a lot goes into being on the team. She said they practice four times a week for several hours each time.
“We have to have strong techniques and good attitudes to be on the team,” Belnap said. “Being a good person is a huge part of it for sure.”
You can see the Dixie Blaze on the sidelines of almost every sporting event. To stay fresh on dances from the fall, Belnap said the team came back to old dances after learning new ones and went through them several times.
“We don’t compete,” said Ciara Blackhurst, a freshman general studies major from Pleasant Grove. “We just perform at our school activities and other little events that come up.”
Blackhurst said she is sad to see some of her teammates move on from the dance team, but she said she loved her team this year.
“We have personalities from one through 10 on this team,” Blackhurst said. “We’ve got the crazies, and we’ve got the quiets, but our team gets along well, and I don’t think we had any problems this year.”
Tryouts for the 2017-18 Dixie Blaze Dance Team will be held on April 22 from 8-10 a.m. Registration and workshops to learn the tryout dance will be on April 21 at 2 p.m.