Two practices each week — with cardio, aerobics and weightlifting mixed in — Code Red puts in work.
Junior captain Kaitlyn Ewing said the Ball State's dance team has been stepping up its workouts as it trains for Nationals.
“Conditioning has gotten more elaborate over the years,” Ewing said. “But Nationals have made our coaches see we are good enough to do this.”
Head coach Amy Wilkins said the dancers need more endurance than anything. They have to stand and dance for four straight hours and perform a halftime show, too.
“They work as hard as they can for a certain amount of time and then rest for a few seconds,” Wilkins said. “Donisha [Carter] has implemented weights due to our tricks for our routines.”
Carter is an assistant coach for Code Red. Wilkins said Carter's past as a personal trainer has helped them develop new techniques. In previous years, said senior Amy Beckwith, Code Red barely had any conditioning.
“Freshman year, we woke up at 6 a.m. once every week and that was run by our captains,” Beckwith said. “We would mainly go in the Rec Center and do our fitness on the ellipticals there.”
At the beginning of the summer, the team traveled to Las Vegas for a camp called Pro Action. Ewing said that's where the team learns most of its choreography.
As far as competitions go, the team will travel to Orlando in January for Nationals. Ewing thinks they will only perform one dance while they are there.
“For this specific contest, we have brought in a choreographer from Cincinnati who will help with our hip-hop routine,” Ewing said.
Even with Nationals in the back of their minds, the team has equally important games to get ready for. They will dance at the game Sept. 17 as the football team takes on Eastern Kentucky University at 3 p.m. Ewing said the conditioning will pay off.
“I feel a lot more prepared for the game Saturday than I ever have in the past,” she said.
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