BYU sports fans are used to seeing their heroes on the field or court, but BYU dancers helped athletes experience a whole new world on the dance floor. Ballroom dancers Jai Knighton

Knighton said even though BYU has one of the best ballroom dance programs in the country, most students here don’t know anything about the team or ballroom dance. “It was a good opportunity for people to be exposed to ballroom dancing,” said Knighton. He hopes this will lead to more people getting involved in it. “Most people know about BYU sports, but often exposure to the arts is minimal,” said Knighton. “Those who want to experience the arts will discover them because they go after it, but this was a good opportunity to mesh something that is really mainstream, like athletics, with the arts.” It turns out meshing dance with other interests is something both Knighton and Udall excel at. They’ve found a way to incorporate their love for dancing into the college experience, despite having completely unrelated majors. Knighton, an exercise science major, said most of the other members of the Ballroom Dance Team are not dance majors either. Luckily, none of them let that stop them from participating in dance. “We each decided that we wanted to have dance be apart of our lives, that it wasn’t just going to be on the side.” “You just do it,” said Knighton. “If you really have a passion and a drive there shouldn’t be anything to stop you. For me, dance is the thing that helps me get away from it all.” Udall said when she started out in the nursing major she was worried she would not be able to balance dance and the demands of her major. She said the key was planning ahead with both her professors and her coaches. “Usually when you have conflicts, it’s either due to not planning well or conflicts you can’t avoid,” said Udall. “However, if you just work with your coaches, directors and teachers ahead of time, it’s attainable.” Both dancers agree that if a student is interested in the arts, they should explore the options BYU provides. “You don’t need to strictly be just one thing,” said Knighton. “If you want to find other things to do outside of your major then you can, BYU has provided so many opportunities to be involved in the arts.” Udall says you just have to go for it. “Always do something that you love,” said Udall.