The final society for our week 7 theme of Dance is the UNSW Cheer and Dance Society (CheerSoc)!
If you’ve never heard of them before, check out our chat with their president Kassidy.
Currently studying Medical Science, Kassidy has danced her whole life and even did a whole year of full time dance during her gap year. Struggling to find the balance between going back into academics and still having the drive to dance, she thought that CheerSoc would be right for her.
“You get to the point where you’ve danced for so long that it’s hard to see improvement.”
During her year learning dance, she said she felt so pushed to improve in a new environment which she thoroughly enjoyed. Kassidy, who is from Canberra, came to Sydney to get her Certificate IV in Dance. During her year of full-time she experienced and learnt a lot, even travelling to America to do some training.
Kassidy started off dancing when she was 3 in a musical percussion class. Originally put in that class to learn about rhythm she said that the teachers put her in the dance class because she was a “fidgety child”.
She then started dancing, doing jazz, contemporary and a bit of ballet. Kassidy is now more focused on hip hop which she says she is all for.
“I think what makes us different from other societies is that we are a competitive society.”
Kassidy explained that CheerSoc has two aspects to them, the dance and the cheer. Their cheer group is in charge of the various stunts, and compete in a series of competitions called Australian All-Star Cheerleading Federation (AASCF) every year. The group competes in 5 to 7 competitions before going to the nationals at the end of the year which honestly sounds hectic.
Aside from competitive performances, they also perform during university events such as O-Week and the Night Markets, which some of you may have seen!
“We have incorporated social classes this year.”
Their dance teams practice around an hour each week and their stunt team even more. As they are a competitive team, it is hard for them to take new members during the year. The new social classes allows those who may not want to commit to the competitive performances but still want to dance become part of the team. Kassidy wants to focus on dance styles that they may not usually do in these social classes which she thinks will be super fun!
“It’s just part of my being.”
When asked what dance was to her, Kassidy had a mental block before explaining that she couldn’t see herself not dancing. She said that it will always be something she can get lost in when she is stressed or anxious.
“Dancing isn’t just for girls.”
I asked her about what misconceptions people might have about CheerSoc. She said that people thought cheerleading was only for girls. Of course this isn’t true – while they currently only have one male in their society, they are more than welcome for boys and girls to come on board.
Kassidy also said that whilst CheerSoc have a large social media presence, many students didn’t know about them. She said that this year they will try to perform more to get more people knowing about them. Working with other societies and cheering for them is something that Kassidy is keen on doing.
Having some or any experience in movement or being on a stage is good, but not a must, for those interested in joining. Now that they have social classes, anyone is welcome to drop by and dance. One thing that Kassidy wanted to say to students is to be involved in the societies as they will only better your university experience. Kassidy also said that if you’re bored and looking for some entertainment to drop by their classes. Her final recommendation was to check out choreographer Parris Goebel.
