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It was
So You Think You Can Dance meets Sycamore Athletics at Indiana State University as student-athletes put away the bats and balls to showcase their talents in a fun way – all for a good cause. Organized by the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Indiana State athletics presented its first ever Student Athlete Talent Show filled with singing and dancing in late November in Tilson Auditorium. All proceeds from the event went toward sponsoring families in need this holiday season.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our student-athletes,” Indiana State Athletics Director Ron Prettyman said. “They’re doing it for the right reasons and they looked like they were having so much fun. They’re getting it done in the classroom, they’re getting it done on the field of competition and now they’re doing it for community service. I just love these kids.”
The show, “Traveling through the Decades!” featured performances highlighting music from the last five decades as well as present day. The athletic teams, including the cheer and dance teams, were paired up and each group represented a different decade.
“The format of the show really gave student-athletes from different teams the chance to work and have fun together and it was for a great cause,” Marlon Dechausay, Director of Athletic Studies, said. “We have a great group of kids here who are strong in the classroom and in the playing arena and judging from the performances we saw in the talent show, pretty good singers and dancers as well.”
Strength coach Dave McMannus, athletic trainer Shelli Landis and Freda Luers, student activities associate director, served as distinguished judges and provided comments following each performance.
Throughout the evening, the audience was treated to tunes from the likes of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Jackson Five, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Kenny Loggins, Michael Jackson, Salt-N-Pepa, the Backstreet Boys, the Spice Girls, Chingy and others but it was the soothing voice of Stevie Wonder, to jamming out with KISS and the Village People and even a brief appearance by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, that gave the women’s basketball and the men’s track and cross country teams who represented the 1970’s, the top prize. The People’s Choice Award, as determined by the most donations following the show, was presented to the volleyball and women’s track and cross country teams who delighted spectators with their 1980’s dance rendition of
Footloose and
Thriller.
“I just can’t believe in a month’s time the student-athletes put on this type of show,” Assistant Academic Coordinator and SAAC Advisor Jeremy Ploch said. “We raised nearly $700 for those needy families. This was all student-run and organized and it’s a great group of kids to work with. It just shows the dedication they have as student-athletes as well as leaders in the community.”
With the great success of the inaugural Student Athlete Talent Show, SAAC and the athletics department plan to make it an annual event.
