Daily Trojan USC.edu

RSS

Pretty fly for a dance group

USC's hip-hop dance group The Fly Girls drops top-notch skills and picks up a diverse squad.

Maya Meinert

Issue date: 9/12/05 Section: Lifestyle

DoubleClick Any Word

Page 1 of 1

Media Credit: Photos by Katherine Beck | Daily Trojan

Bust a move. Fly Girls co-captain Eve Torres teaches girls a dance during tryouts. This is Torres´ fourth year dancing with the Fly Girls.

This is your chance to really show off!" Eve Torres, senior co-captain of the USC Fly Girls, told the girls at the first of two tryout clinics last week.

Nearly 30 hopefuls took turns walking "hip-hop style" across the back entrance to Heritage Hall Wednesday night. This was a determined group of girls.

For co-captains Torres and Lindsay Miller, dancing with the Fly Girls is nothing short of passion; it's what they do. "The thought crossed my mind for trying out for other dance teams, but I always stay right with the Fly Girls because that's where my heart is at. I love the team," Torres said.

Miller, a senior majoring in print journalism, transferred from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore. last year and was excited to find a dance group that fit her style and offered a challenge. "I think everybody inspires everyone else to work harder and get better," she said.

This kind of inspiration is what prompted the Fly Girls to form in the first place.

In 1998, founders Lisha Bell, Maya Mitchell and Amanda Hall felt there was a need for a dance group that was representative of African-American culture, so they decided to create a hip-hop dance group.

Since its founding, the Fly Girls have grown and evolved every year to incorporate more than just hip-hop, including jazz, lyrical and modern dance styles into their routines.

The group has also become more diverse in its member makeup. "It's definitely a great experience because there are people of all different races on the team, (making it) really fun," Miller said.

This diversity was apparent at Wednesday night's clinic, with girls from all different races and backgrounds participating. Some had previous dance experience; some just liked to dance.

Even as the group becomes more and more diverse, "we always have to remember why it was formed and stay true to the organizations that sponsor us, which are Black Student Assembly and the Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs," Torres said.

Staying true to BSA and CBCSA means performing every year for certain events hosted by those organizations, including Black Welcome Week, the BSA/CBCSA Soul Food Dinner, Nakumbuka Day, the Somerville Shootout 5 on 5 Basketball Tournament and the Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

The Fly Girls also perform at Save Tommy Night, held the night before the USC-UCLA football game, and at Songfest, a showcase of performances held at Bovard Auditorium.

The group receives requests from other USC organizations to perform, as well as from off-campus organizations. Last year they performed at a local middle school that held a diabetes awareness day and at a Latina Magazine makeover event.

The Fly Girls' biggest event so far has been Choreography, a hip-hop dance competition the group started last year. Other Southern California hip-hop dance teams were invited to compete and since the turnout was high, the Fly Girls will be hosting it again this year.

Not only are the Fly Girls dedicated to performances and creating their own events, some group members work professionally as they attend school. Torres danced in the NBA Summer Pro League in Long Beach and she was a Los Angeles Clippers Spirit Dance Team finalist. Team member Latoya Hill is represented by Bloc Agency, a talent agency for dancers, choreographers and extreme athletes.

It is no wonder then that so many people showed up for the tryout clinic. With all this talent, who could resist the urge to be among some of the best dancers USC has to offer?

That is exactly what Kelsey Kopro, an undeclared freshman, said brought her to check out the group. "I'm looking for a hip-hop dance group that also does performances and has a little more talent and expertise in dancing," Kopro said.

And who could forget the most important reason to join a group such as the Fly Girls - to have fun. "It's a fun way that's not too demanding to express yourself through dance," Torres said.

Miller added, "It's something you can balance with the rest of your life."

For anyone who has a passion for dance but also has other commitments, check out the Fly Girls. "I've been dancing, especially hip-hop, for as long as I can remember. I want to keep dancing, to have fun and perform. (The Fly Girls) seem like a good way to do it," said Marissa Goodhill, an undeclared freshman.

The group practices twice a week unless there is a performance, in which case another practice may be added.The Fly Girls usually have one performance every two weeks, unless it is Black History Month when they may have two shows in one week.

Members say it's a small price to pay for the fun and camaraderie that they are part of. As Torres said, "all the girls get along every year. It's always so much fun."

The Fly Girls are scheduled to perform at the BSA/CBCSA Soul Food Dinner Oct. 7 and at Nakumbuka Day Nov. 9.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools

Subscribe:

Advertisements:

Custom T-Shirts
Home Services Guides | USC Self Storage Discounts

Comments and Forum Posting Policy

Thank you for your interest and participation in the Daily Trojan comments and online forum system. To safeguard USC's Principles of Community while fostering a healthy campus dialogue, we require users to follow these basic posting guidelines:

Right to Delete Posts
Any postings that the Daily Trojan deems incongruent with its policies - including messages that are defamatory, obscene, abusive or in violation of copyright or trademark laws - are subject to editing or deletion. Although the Daily Trojan cannot reasonably expect to review every forum posting and is not responsible for any posted content, it reserves the right to monitor forums and remove posting privileges of users who violate these terms. All messages must be written in English.

Posting Rules
Comments, interactive areas, discussion boards, and the Daily Trojan Forums are intended to encourage public debate. We expect participants to differ ? judgment and opinion are subjective, and we encourage freedom of speech and a marketplace of ideas. But by using these areas of our website, you are participating in a community that is intended for all our users. Therefore, we reserve the right to remove any content posted on our site at any time for any reason.

Decisions as to whether content violates any Posting Rule will be made by the Daily Trojan at its sole discretion, after having received actual notice of such posting. Without limiting our right to remove content, we have attempted to provide guidelines to those posting content on our site. When using our website, please do not post material that:

contains vulgar, profane, abusive or hateful language, epithets or slurs, text or illustrations in poor taste, inflammatory attacks of a personal, racial or religious nature, or expressions of bigotry, racism, discrimination or hate.
is defamatory, threatening, disparaging, grossly inflammatory, false, misleading, deceptive, fraudulent, inaccurate, unfair, contains gross exaggeration or unsubstantiated claims, violates the privacy rights of any third party, is unreasonably harmful or offensive to any individual or community, contains any actionable statement, or tends to mislead or reflect unfairly on any other person, business or entity.
violates any right of the Daily Trojan or any third party.
discriminates on the grounds of race, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation or disability, or refers to such matters in any manner prohibited by law.
violates any municipal, state or federal law, rule, regulation or ordinance, or attempts to encourage such an evasion or violation.
unfairly interferes with any third party?s uninterrupted use of the Daily Trojan.
advertises, promotes or offers to trade any goods or services, except in areas specifically designated for such purpose.
uploads copyrighted or other proprietary material of any kind on our website without the express permission of the owner of that material.
uses or attempts to use another?s account, password, service or system except as expressly permitted by the Terms of Service.
includes images, photos, or articles or other content that constitutes, promotes or encourages illegal acts, violation of any right of any individual or entity, violation of any local, state, national or international law, rule, guideline or regulation, or otherwise creates liability.
uploads or transmits viruses or other harmful, disruptive or destructive files.
disrupts, interferes with, or otherwise harms or violates the security of our website, or any services, system resources, accounts, passwords, servers or networks connected to or accessible through our website or affiliated or linked sites.
"flames" any individual or entity (e.g., sends repeated messages related to another user and/or makes derogatory or offensive comments about another individual), or repeats prior posting of the same message under multiple threads or subjects.