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Tuesday, March 19
The Indiana Daily Student

arts

Dancing in Cream and Crimson

entArtistSpotlight

By Jordan Morgan

At any given IU football game, a group of girls in cream and crimson dance on the sidelines, performing alongside the Marching Hundred at halftime and intermittently throughout the game. They spend each week learning a new dance and are expected to be good representatives of IU.

These are the obligations of an IU RedStepper, junior Sarah Monnier said.

Monnier is one of the 21 girls who are members of the 43-year-old dance unit.

Monnier has been dancing since she was 5 years old with a pre-professional ballet company, for which she danced all throughout high school, she said.

Monnier auditioned for the RedSteppers when she was a senior in high school after her mother discovered the opportunity for her to continue her dance career in college.

“I’m glad she pushed me to do it because I can’t really imagine fall without RedSteppers,” Monnier said.

However, being a RedStepper can take some getting used to, she said.

They dance to anything the band plays, from country to rock to “Talk Dirty” by Jason Derulo. Monnier said they have to think on their feet and be able to dance to whatever song the band decides to play.

“If there’s music playing, we are expected to be dancing,” Monnier said.

Janis Cooper Parker, choreographer for the RedSteppers, said the girls must have good short-term memory to pick up new steps quickly.

High kicks and splits are an essential part of each RedStepper routine.

While background in dance is not required, Parker said it is helpful.

“Stylistically, I’m going to choreograph to the music that we’re given,” she said. “That is why they have to be able to adapt to those stylistic points.”

Beyond IU football, the RedSteppers perform at the Spirits and Traditions of IU during Welcome Week and even do a halftime show at Lucas Oil Stadium during a Colts game. Their commitments exist both on and off the field.

“The RedSteppers are the hardest-working women in football,” Parker said.

Monnier said the beauty of the RedSteppers is their unity.

As a RedStepper, you dance not as an individual but as one unit, junior RedStepper Jessica Ivetich said.

Their unity is reflected by their routines and relationships.

Ivetich said the team is constantly hanging out together, which strengthens their bond as friends and dancers.

“Getting to perform in a college atmosphere with my best friends is great,” Monnier said.

As a journalism student pursuing a minor in dance, Monnier said she wants to continue her dance career outside 
of college.

She said she hoped to work at Disney World as an entertainer and dancer when she graduates.

She said being a RedStepper has helped prepare her for her future.

“I guess dance has made me always be striving to be the best that I can at something and work really hard,” 
Monnier said.

Ivetich said Monnier commits herself to the RedSteppers 100 percent of the time.

Although Monnier is a junior, Ivetich said she has taken on a leadership role among the senior RedSteppers.

"(Monnier) is always at practices and always in a good mood,” Ivetich said.

Monnier said she loves dance because it’s great self-expression — it is how she has always connected with her closest friends. She said dance puts you on a deeper emotional level, allowing you to connect with who you’re performing with. This especially applies to her fellow RedSteppers.

Monnier and the rest of the RedSteppers will perform at the first IU home football game at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5.

“I feel so lucky to be a part of this organization for my entire college career, and I feel really fortunate that my parents were able to put me in a dance education environment, because it really molded me as who I am today,” Monnier said.

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