HCUK Campus Celebrity: Kassidy Wolfe

 

Name: Kassidy Wolfe

Age: 22

Year: Senior

Major: Biology, with minors in psychology and neuroscience

Hometown: Mount Vernon, Ind.

Campus Celeb Status: Line Dance Coordinator for DanceBlue

 

HC: How and why did you first get involved with DanceBlue here at UK?

KW: I first got involved with DanceBlue my sophomore year when I danced on the floor at the marathon with my sorority’s team. After this amazing experience, I knew I had to do more. My junior year, I was a committee member on the Programming Committee, which is the committee that is in charge of planning the games and activities that go on during each hour of the marathon. Being involved at this level made me want to give even more of myself to DanceBlue. I have been a dancer my whole life and have taken roles throughout college choreographing routines for different events. Because of my experience, a few of my friends who were also on DanceBlue Committee encouraged me to apply for the Line Dance Coordinator position, and here we are!

 

HC: What are you responsibilities as the Line Dance Coordinator for DanceBlue?

KW: As the Line Dance Coordinator, I am responsible for creating the line dance that all 800+ dancers do every hour of the 24-hour marathon. First, I collect music and video clip suggestions, as well as my own ideas, and with the help of the Technology Chair (Ross Troop), I compile all of these into one long 13-minute song. Once the song is finalized, I will choreograph the dance moves. Once the line dance is choreographed, I will spend the next couple months teaching the dance to DanceBlue Committee. Finally, I will be responsible for teaching the line dance to all of the dancers on the floor during the first couple hours of the marathon.

 

HC: In your tenure as the Line Dance Coordinator, what do you hope to achieve?

KW: My main goal, as simple as it is, is to make sure every single dancer, volunteer, committee member and observer has a blast at DB16. I can achieve this goal by making the line dance as fun as possible, and making sure that it is something the dancers can look forward to doing at the beginning of every hour of the marathon. I remember when I was a dancer, if I was struggling or in pain, I would always think “at least there’s only 15 minutes until the line dance, I can do this!” Another one of my goals is to make the process of learning the line dance a little bit easier for dancers. It’s hard for every single dancer to get a good enough view to where they can pick up on the details of the dance, which makes certain moves difficult to learn, and that can be very frustrating. I want to eliminate dancers not being confident in the dance until halfway through the marathon — they will have a much better time if they can do the dance full out every time!

 

HC: What has been the most rewarding about serving in this position so far?

KW: My job as the Line Dance Coordinator is a such a fun one! In the time I’ve spent gathering music and video suggestions from my fellow committee members, I’ve had a great time looking up everyone’s ideas and learning about cool songs/funny videos that are popular right now. This position has allowed me to get closer with so many inspiring people on committee, which is extremely rewarding. The most rewarding thing, though, would have to be knowing that I am devoting even more of my time and my life to those innocent kids at the DanceBlue clinic, as well as their families and everyone else affected by pediatric cancer. After my first year of dancing, I knew I would not feel okay with myself if I didn’t give the most effort possible to this amazing organization. The importance of my position and everything that comes along with it is not even in comparable to the importance of the meaning behind DanceBlue and doing everything we can to achieve the overall goal: ending childhood cancer! It is rewarding and humbling to know that I have even the slightest involvement in that overall picture.

 

HC: What has been the most challenging aspect of being the Line Dance Coordinator for DanceBlue?

KW: Like I said, my job as the Line Dance Coordinator has been such a blast so far. If I had to define a challenging aspect of it, I would say it would be my desire to be inclusive of every good idea/suggestion. I am such a music lover and there are so many great songs out there that would be perfect to put in the line dance song. Since it’s only 13 minutes long, however, I have to pick the most fun/relevant songs, achieve a balance between the types of songs represented, make sure it is possible to choreograph fun moves to each song, and fit all of this into a relatively “short” song. 

 

HC: What advice do you have for students thinking about getting involved with DanceBlue at UK?

KW: DO IT. I cannot say enough times how great this organization is and how positively it has changed my life. I strongly believe that every student on this campus could never regret getting involved with DanceBlue. That being said, a lot of students say they want to get involved and then miss their chance. My advice would be to get involved as early as possible by displaying your interest to absolutely anyone involved with DB, who can then relay all information to you, so that you don’t miss any deadlines or other important happenings. I, along with tons of other DB’ers, always say that not being involved our freshman year is our biggest regret. Don’t let that happen to you and get involved now!

 

HC: How can students learn more about DanceBlue here at the university?

KW: The students of the DanceBlue community are SO passionate about this organization, and are more than willing to talk to anyone about our mission and ways to get involved. That being said, the easiest way for students to learn more about DanceBlue is to reach out to other students. Another great resource is the DanceBlue website, www.danceblue.org. Anything and everything there is to know about DB is on the website, as well as all of the chair and coordinator emails, in case students have specific questions. If anyone has questions or is interested in DanceBlue, I’d be more than happy to talk with you! Send me an email at linedance@danceblue.org! FTK!!