By Eunice Soriano

When the halftime buzzer sounds at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC), a group of vibrant dancers sporting their signature blue sweaters with the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold logo take to the court where each step onto the hardwood brings the crowd to life.

But beyond the lively hip-hop performances on the MAC court, the TMU DancePak carries their diverse array of talent, energy and dynamics to a grander stage. 

Founded by alum Krista Speller, the DancePak has served as the school’s official competitive dance team since 2004. 

This year, DancePak captain Ruby Kawam and assistant captains Jaclyn Wong and Alessia Di Santo are leading the biggest group of dancers in the team’s history. 

Since the start of the season, they have been hard at work juggling their jazz, contemporary and hip-hop lines, while also preparing their lyrical and tap small group numbers. 

Coming off of massive wins from last year’s Be U: Varsity Challenge, View Dance Competition and Strive Dance Competition, the DancePak has shown no signs of slowing down.  

Wong, a fourth-year graphic communications management student, said their hunger to win manifests itself in countless hours of training in TMU’s Recreation and Athletic Centre (RAC). 

While balancing time in the studio, Wong and her fellow captains are also actively organizing their budget, registration and costumes before the competition season commences. 

First-year psychology student Pia Ghostine expressed how relying on her captains has helped her integrate into the DancePak community, especially as a newcomer. 

“[Kawam], [Di Santo] and [Wong], they’re really great captains, amazing leaders…They definitely keep up a great support system,” Ghostine said. 

In the heat of the intense practices, Wong emphasized the importance of discussing mental health and fostering a positive environment for all their dancers. 

“We’re very much looking at the bigger picture of how competitive dance should be fun. We have really brought it back to the root of why we are dancing because we love it, not because it’s something we have to do,” Wong said. 

Wong explained how she cherishes performing in the studio and on stage as a way to shed her emotions. 

“I was stressed about assignments,  family issues, whatever. And it was just a place for me to be emotionally vulnerable, where my friends were and where I could just kind of move freely,” said Wong. 

With the hope that she would pick up any sport, Ghostine’s parents enrolled her in dance classes when she was two years old. 

She expressed how she always leaned on dance for solace, nursing that passion throughout her teenage years and now on the DancePak team. 

“I’m a naturally really anxious person, but for whatever reason when I dance and stuff, that tends to just go away.” 

During the school week, when she’s not sitting in lecture halls or hanging out with her friends, she is at the studio rehearsing with her fellow DancePak members—learning new choreography and polishing their other routines. 

She spoke to the intensity of their Sunday practice sessions dedicated to a plethora of technique classes, running through the pep rally routines and taking inspiration from guest choreographers to elevate their sequences. 

“It can get a little strict at times, but that’s what comes with being on a competitive team. And we all know there’s like a goal we all want to do amazing at competition…and represent our school to the best of our abilities,” she said. 

Whenever the exhaustion settles in, Ghostine reminds herself of the immense progress she has made throughout the few months at TMU. 

“A big thing that a bunch of the girls worry about [is that]  being in a university dance team is like losing the skill you once had when you were at your prime as an early teenager,” Ghostine said. “But I honestly feel myself progressing every week. And I love that I can still learn new things while being a university student.” 

While newer members like Ghostine are navigating the university competition scene for the first time, Wong and many other fourth-years are gearing up for their last performances on the collegiate stage. 

For Wong, the prospect of being a part of the DancePak played a major influence in her decision to attend TMU. 

Throughout the past three years, she has leapt into different roles, from general member to media coordinator and now dancing her last year as assistant captain. 

As she moves onto the next chapter of her life, she said it saddens her to part ways with the team but she will undoubtedly come back and visit in the future. 

“Dance is one of those sports that you don’t really grow out of. I feel like a lot of other athletes that I knew when I was younger quit before high school, whereas dance, I feel like you foster such a close community with your team that when you graduate, it’s genuinely heartbreaking,” said Wong. 

Ghostine added that she values the team bonding days that have allowed her to connect with the other dancers who are now some of her closest friends. 

“At first when rookies join the team, there’s that sense of ‘I don’t know if I’m going to get along with everybody. I don’t know how they’re going to treat us,’ but that instantly went away after the first day,” Ghostine said. “It gives us a chance to get along and really, like, understand us at the root [of] who we are, rather than just like us as dancers.”

Counting down the days until competition season, Wong is filled with gratitude as she looks back on all her dances and the impactful people she has met through the DancePak. 

“I feel like the sense of community is never lost, even though the people are constantly changing…I hope that all of the current and future members of DancePak feel just as fulfilled as I did,” Wong said.