By Kate Marino
When Ruckus co-presidents Olivia Rotondo and Mia Dragone joined the team during their freshman year, they hoped for more opportunities to perform at sports games.
Now, four years later as seniors, they made it as co-presidents.
"It feels amazing to be part of the growth of Ruckus and to play a role in securing more performance opportunities for our team," Dragone said.
Her co-president agreed. "This has been a long-term goal for us, and seeing it come to life is incredibly rewarding,” said Rotondo.
Ruckus is a Hip Hop and Step team with over 50 dancers. You do not need any dance experience to join, which is different from other dance clubs on campus.
There are no tryouts and no payments needed to join the club.
“We are different than any other club on campus because of that,” said Dragone.
The roots and expansion of Ruckus was a thought that Mia and Olivia started talking about when they met while attending practices.
"Olivia and I met through Ruckus freshman year and became roommates. From the start, we talked about how much we wanted to bring Ruckus to basketball games. As soon as we became presidents, we made it a priority," Dragone said.
They accomplished that goal and expanded the membership to about 60. However, everyone knows about Ruckus because of their debut at other campus events.
"People who might not typically attend our performances at events like our recital or Skyhawk Madness now have the chance to see us in action. This new audience engagement could inspire more students to join or support Ruckus," Dragone said.
Performing at Midnight Madness in October was very different than performing at basketball games.
"At our recital, DiverCity, or Songs of Stonehill, people attend specifically to watch us. But at basketball games, we’re performing for a crowd that may not be familiar with Ruckus. It’s exciting because it gives us the chance to engage with a new audience and hopefully leave a lasting impression,” said Rotondo.
Ruckus will be performing at the next home basketball game on Feb. 13.
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