Canisius Dance Team: What they bring to the KAC on gameday

By: Kaitlin O’Meara, Copy Editor

The Canisius Dance Team is one of the key members of Canisius’ “spirit squads,” composed of the Dance Team, Pep Band, C-Block and – when we have it – the Cheer Team. They can be found dancing on the sidelines with their gold poms and stylish uniforms, while helping to bring the energy to women’s and men’s basketball games at the Koessler Athletic Center (KAC).

Dancers on the team come from a variety of dance backgrounds, but all have some of the competition experience that captain Ava Wohlleber believes helps with their performances throughout the season. She credits the repetitive nature of a competition season and the comfort of performing in front of a large crowd for helping team members in their transition from high school to collegiate-level dance. Wohlleber herself has been dancing for 11 years, which is common among many dancers on the team who also have been dancing for much – if not nearly all – of their lives. 

The dance team performs a variety of different styles during games – from pom to jazz to hip hop for their on-court dances to a set of different courtside mini-pom-esque sideline routines. Pep, dance and cheer really feed off of each other when it comes to performing at the games, and C-Block uses their energy to keep the crowd loud. Wohlleber describes their dancing style at games as a “super hype kind of performance style.” As captain, Wohlleber is in charge of choosing what dance they do on the sidelines, which is based on “quick[ly] adapting to whatever song is playing at the moment.” Not only is she leading the team, but she also must work to keep up the team’s energy and set that example for them as well.

Off the sidelines and the court, the dance team also does some community engagement activities as well. In the past, they’ve gone to the Breast Cancer Awareness walk at Outer Harbor, and this weekend they will be performing at the Girls on the Run 5k. Similar to what they do at games, the team works to keep up the energy and cheer on those who are running (or walking) and encourage them to keep going. The dance team has always been one of my favorite parts of the basketball games, because win or lose, I know I can count on them for an incredible performance.