During Lauren Leiker’s first year with Temple Diamond Gems, she immediately entered the demanding realm of college dance. Despite being in the dance world for years, Leiker felt the pressure mount during the Universal Dance Association College Nationals, Temple’s most prominent competition.
The UDA Nationals took place from Jan. 17-19 in Orlando, Florida. But the busiest part of the season is during the fall semester when dancers have to attend two mandatory lift sessions in the morning and three night practices from 6-10 p.m. — all on top of their everyday schoolwork.
The rigorous circumstances caused Leiker to feel more anxiety around competing than she expected.
“In terms of the competition aspect, I knew what to expect,” Leiker said. “But it’s also just taken to another big level, especially with UDA competing against all those great athletes and dancers.”
While their peers return home for winter break in December, the Diamond Gems stay on campus to prepare for nationals. The team endures nine-hour practice days and can only return home for a week before being whisked away to finalize their routines.
Through the emotional and physical demands of the sport, the Diamond Gems find comfort in leaning on each other. While the isolation leaves the squad lonely in the heat of their season, the bonds with their teammates carry them through tough times.
“Because we spend so much time together, we can tell when someone’s having an off day or something’s going on, even if they’re not expressing it,” said dancer Kaitlyn Zebro. “You can just kind of tell and so any single one of us is if something’s going on, we’re the first ones to go up to them. Be like, ‘You’ve got it. It’s okay. Breathe. You’re gonna get through the day.’”
While the team has formed strong bonds, coach Jennifer Keller has attempted to help ease the pressure that comes from competing even more. Keller, the team’s coach since 2013, has developed a “student first” mindset. She has encouraged her team to tend to their academic needs if their school and athletic balance becomes too strenuous.
When a dancer’s schedule becomes too burdensome, Keller is the first to help her players succeed and adjust to their needs.
The dancers also find comfort in rehearsals or taking dance classes with their teammates. Whether it’s through an emotional contemporary number or an upbeat jazz choreography combination, the artistry of dance helps them cope with the stress of student athletics.
“I think using dance as therapy is one of the best things ever because it doesn’t only connect someone [through mirroring them],” said dancer Victoria Grimaldi. “It connects you on a deeper level with someone else that words can’t get across, or taking a medication won’t help in a different way that still makes you feel pretty good.”
Even though dance is a cathartic release for certain members, it can feel as if the world is crashing down amid their season for others. The physical and emotional toll can begin to negatively affect their outlook on the sport when they rehearse for long hours in preparation for competitions.
In the moments when their love of dance may be squeezed out, the relationships with their teammates pull them right back in.
“Sometimes, we’ve reached that line where we’re like, ‘this is killing me. I don’t want to do it. I’m freaking out. It’s not my therapy anymore,’” Zebro said. “But then there’s like, that day happens, you come back in and there’s so many personalities so we have such a blast and we can make it so much fun and get work done at the same time that you come back in and you’re like, I was so dramatic. This is my therapy.”
Whether it’s during the heat of UDA preparation or the quieter part of the season in the spring semester, the Diamond Gems have an overwhelming workload.
Regardless of the intense pressure, the Diamond Gems keep themselves grounded through the love they have for their teammates. But most importantly, they learn to find emotional relief through their expression of dance.
“You step into a different atmosphere when you get around the dance team because we all get that we’re all going through something separate,” Grimaldi said. “But it’s nice to have a closed space where it doesn’t have to matter for the few hours that we’re together, we’re in practice, because we could just focus on that.”
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