Find Teammates
Start out by finding other dancers who are interested in participating. As a group, decide whether or not your team will be competitive and what styles of dance you’ll focus on. Be specific about your goals, then get the word out to attract members. Post fliers on campus, advertise in your school’s newspaper and put an announcement on the school website. (You may not need to hold tryouts your first year, unless you get so many responses that you just can’t use everyone!) Once you’ve gathered a group of interested students, you’re ready to approach your school to get your plan approved. You may need to have a number of dancers committed in advance: At the University of Oregon, for example, there must be at least 10 current students interested in being on the team for the plan to go forward, says Shawn Rubino, the school’s Club Sports office manager.

Get School Approval
Submit a proposal to the organization that oversees clubs at your university—this is usually Club Sports or Campus Life. In your proposal, include what type of team you’ll be forming (like hip hop or jazz), your facility needs (what space you’ll want to rehearse in and for how many hours per week) and info about the team captain or coordinator. Be concise and to the point. A committee will review your proposal and decide whether the club can move forward. Procedures may vary slightly between schools, so do some investigating.

Select Leadership
Once you have a team in place, decide if you want to hire a coach or be entirely student led. Running your own team has advantages and disadvantages. “Not having a coach gave us the freedom to decide our practice times,” says Sara Haley, who was captain of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign dance team for three years. However, she notes, “it was hard for people to take critiques from their peers.” She also felt more pressure because she had to make most of the decisions. 

Having a non-student coach to structure, organize, teach and choreograph works best for many teams. To find a coach, try posting an ad on sites like Varsity.com, or contact local dance studios to see if one of their instructors would be interested in the position. Keep in mind that many colleges don’t provide student organizations with funding, so the team must pay the coach’s salary. This leads to the next step. . . .

Fundraise
Your coach won’t be the only thing you’ll need to finance—you may also have to buy uniforms, hire a choreographer and rent studio space, if you can’t use campus facilities. For competitive teams attending Nationals, “entry fees, costumes and accommodations can cost each member about $700,” says Robin Badstubner, coach of UO’s dance team. Standard fundraisers such as car washes and yard sales help, but other ideas can be more lucrative. For instance, try asking individuals or organizations to sponsor your team. “We send out letters requesting sponsorship to local businesses, family members and friends and raise enough money to go to Nationals,” says UO dance team member Sara Strite.

Host a dance clinic or competition, sell team calendars or organize 50/50 raffles—in which the winner receives half of the money earned from ticket sales—at school events. (For more fundraising ideas, see DS April 07.)

Find Performance Opportunities
Ask the athletic department if you can perform at basketball and football games. Even if your college has a spirit squad, club teams are often allowed to perform at halftime, too. Check with local high schools to see if you can perform an exhibition at one of their events. Finally, charity fundraisers or dance studio showcases in your community might offer further performance opportunities.

Get Organized
Organization leads to success. Know important deadlines—like when competition fees are due and paperwork needs to be turned in—and be aware of team members’ class schedules and any resulting practice and performance conflicts. Stay on top of how much money is in your team account and keep good records. “Having three or four team leaders will make things run smoothly,” says Haley. For instance, you could have two captains who run practices and choreograph routines, while a separate dancer coordinates logistical matters such as team finances, scheduling and publicity. It will take some effort, but with strong leadership and managerial skills, and a clear goal in mind, you can start a team and keep dance a part of your college experience.

Karl Mundt has worked with top dance teams including the University of Minnesota, University of Louisville and the Eden Prairie High School pom squad. His choreography has also been featured on CBS, NBC and ESPN.