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UI Ballroom Dance Team is second largest in the state
The second largest program in the state and one of the only college teams in the Northwest, The University of Idaho Ballroom Dance Team has made strides since it was first created in the fall of 2007.
Chantal and Trevor Dougal started the team together and have built the team up, competing, choreographing and getting involved in the community.
Dougal, a sophomore psychology and communications major, started dancing when he was 11.
“There was this really cute girl I wanted to get to know, so I came into the dancing world,” he said.
He’s been dancing ever since all over the country, even competing in the National Ballroom Championship.
“I was going to start a team at BYU, but instead I got married,” Trevor Dougal said.
He taught his wife Chantal, a senior elementary education major, to dance less than a year ago and together they teach three classes a week and dance about 10 hours or more each week with the team.
“We spent hours putting together the team,” she said. “It is a lot of work.”
The couple teaches a variety of dancing styles.
“People think ballroom is just about waltzing,” Trevor Dougal said.
The team does teach the waltz and more traditional ballroom dances such as the Fox Trot, but also more rhythm dancing like Cha Cha and Latin dances.
Junior creative writing and Spanish major Sarah Crider is a member of the team.
Crider began dancing as a cheerleader in high school.
“There were not many opportunities for ballroom dancing,” Crider said. “I always thought it was so elegant.”
She took beginning ballroom when she came to UI and was a part of the Latin Dance Club before she joined the Ballroom Dance Team last fall.
“For me it’s that I really enjoy dancing,” Crider said. “It puts a smile on my face.”
Crider said the different styles reflect different backgrounds which adds richness.
She also said ballroom dancing teaches a type of chivalry through dance.
“There’s a respect between men and women as dance partners,” Crider said.
Students may join the team on a tryout basis and if accepted, will be put on either the A-team or the B-team.
“Dance brings people together,” Crider said.
The team also works to be involved in the community.
“Everybody watches shows like ‘Dancing with the Stars,’” Chantal Dougal said. “They just don’t know it is available. We really wanted to get out into the community.”
The team hosts social ballroom dances from 7 to 10 p.m. every other Saturday — an event so popular that they had to move to a bigger venue: the Physical Education Building.
The event was started to spark interest in ballroom dance at the university and in the community.
“A lot of people show up to the social dances with all different backgrounds and skill levels from beginners to teachers,” Crider said.
They charge $3 per person, which raises money for costumes and going to competitions.
That’s just the beginning of the work the team is doing to raise awareness and funds.
On March 29, the team will host Day of Dance, five solid hours of dance from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m in the PEB for $5 a person.
“There will be chunks of lessons with dancing in between and refreshments,” Chantal Dougal said.
The club is also sponsoring a ballroom dance competition on April 26 for anyone in the area who wants to compete in different ballroom dances.
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