Today we’d like to introduce you to Allie Pacella (CINO Dance Company).
Hi Allie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
CINO Dance Company is a registered student organization at Coastal Carolina University that was founded in the spring of 2023. There was a lack of options for continuing your dance career at CCU so the founder wanted to create a positive and welcoming environment for dancers. We are CCU’s only competitive dance team and so far we’ve successfully completed two competition seasons. Our team has placed first overall at Star Talent in Supply, NC and Encore in Myrtle Beach, SC. Besides competing, we also perform at a variety of events on campus and within the community. Some examples are the North Myrtle Beach Parades, Myrtle Beach Pelicans baseball games, Charleston Stingrays Hockey game, and more! It is a priority for us to be a tight knit team so we also plan a lot of team bonding opportunities like movie nights, team dinners, photoshoots, etc. We are so proud of how much this team has accomplished and how far we’ve come! The team consists of such strong, talented, and beautiful women.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We are an entirely student run club so although we’ve had so much success so quickly, we’ve definitely had some challenges along the way. Starting the club from scratch and working on things like figuring out practice schedules, delegating tasks, finding performing opportunities, and budgeting has been very time consuming but so rewarding. I, and my co-president and vice president have learned so much about what it takes to be a leader and how to effectively manage a team.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We train in multiple different dance styles, including jazz, contemporary, and hip hop. This past season, we competed with three group routines and three solos. Regularly at practice, the team warms up, stretches, practices exercises across the floor, and learns choreography. We provide opportunities for all our dancers to help lead in the studio and take creative liberty to show us their unique talents. Our team is recognized on campus and very involved with the student body. The main reason we are different than the other dance outlets at CCU is because of the competitive aspect of our team!
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Our team definitely utilizes all that we have all learned from growing up dancing. It provides us with so many different perspectives and helps us stand out. Social media has always been a great outlet for us to advance the team.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @cinodancecompany
- Other: Tiktok: @cinodanceco
