The 2014 version of the West Virginia University Dance Team includes three Bridgeport High School graduates.

 

Returning to the team is Kallie Nealis and making their debut are Chiara Pulice and Danielle Walden. Two years after performing together on the BHS dance line under the direction of Cindy Pulice, the girls will be dazzling Mountaineer basketball fans with choreographed jazz, hip-hop and pom numbers.

 

With one year under her belt, Nealis – of the BHS class of 2013 – knows what she’s in for and looks forward to a repeat season.

 

“I can't imagine how my freshman year would have been any greater if I had not been on the dance team. I made friends that I knew I would always be close with, and all the while getting to do what I love – not to mention getting the thrill of cheering at packed men's and women's basketball games, and dancing on the nationals stage in Daytona as a first-year member,” she said.

 

The WVU dance team has been an experience she would not trade for any other and she is excited to share that with Pulice and Walden, both of whom she has danced with competitively and on school musical stages since middle school.  

 

“After being the first grad from BHS to become a member of the dance team, I am so excited to see other girls from the area want to be a part of the team, as well,” Nealis said.

 

Having recently transferred to WVU, Pulice said she immediately had her eye on becoming a member of the WVU dance team.

 

“But wanting something and actually being able to do it are two completely different things,” she said. “I knew that if I was going to try out in the spring, I needed to get back into dance class and start working on ‘dance team’ style dancing again - which I hadn't done since my senior year of high school.”

 

Pulice had attended Point Park University in Pittsburgh, where she minored in dance, but that contemporary style was quite different. So she immersed herself in private lessons and plenty of practice time.

 

“There were times when I was so frustrated that I questioned if it was all worth it, but then I would picture myself out on the basketball court and hear the WVU fight songs playing through my head and I knew that I would do anything and everything to earn a place on the dance team,” she said.

 

Pulice said she thinks it is awesome that BHS has three graduates on the team.

 

“It says a lot about the quality of the dance Bridgeport offers through danceline, dance ensemble and school musicals,” she said.

 

Walden said she has admired the WVU dance team since she was a little girl.

 

“My parents would take me to the basketball games and truth be told - I would end up watching them more than the actual game,” she said.

 

When she decided to attend WVU, she also decided to become part of something that would keep her focused on her studies, help her meet new people and make her feel like a true Mountaineer. Since being part of the BMS and BHS dancelines were highlights of her middle school and high school years, it made perfect sense to pursue collegiate dance team.

 

“Needless to say, I'm incredibly blessed and excited, even though it is much harder than I expected,” she said. “Going into auditions, I knew it was going to be much more difficult than what I am usually used to, especially since the competitive style of dance that the team uses is a level not exactly taught locally.”

 

Tryouts were held last Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, contestants were taught jazz and hip-hop routines and choreography for "Hail West.” Sunday featured judging of those routines, as well as solos and dance techniques, such as leaps, turns, toe touches and tricks.  

 

Both Pulice and Walden said after sizing up their competition, they had moments of doubt as to whether they would make the team. Both also said they drew on the strength of each other and Nealis.