In just a few years, SJU Club Dance has exploded, with membership growing from about 10 members when the club was started in 2021 to over 80 for the 2024-2025 academic year.
“This year, we made two separate teams. We have a performance team and a general team,” said Sofia Bongiovanni ’27, the club’s recently-elected vice president of events. “We got really popular this year, out of nowhere.”
SJU Club Dance is a student organization run through the Office of Student Leadership & Activities, different from the SJU Dance Team, which performs at school athletic events and competes nationally.
Billed as a “community, performance-based club,” SJU Club Dance is open to anyone, with no auditions required for the general team.
Last November, the club’s performance team danced at a Philadelphia 76ers game. Katelyn Frey ’26, outgoing vice president of events, reached out to a contact who works for the Sixers to set up the opportunity, Bongiovanni said. The club was accepted after the Sixers staff reviewed a video of them performing.
Led by outgoing co-captains Mary Kate Fazzino ’25 and Emma Seely ’25, the club worked throughout the fall semester to prepare for the performance.
Bongiovanni was given the task of choreographing the number. Everything was in her hands — the music, the formations, the practices. She wanted to make it unforgettable. She said seeing her choreography come to life was a surreal experience.
“It was so awesome because I’ve choreographed before when I was younger, when I was on a dance team, but it was never this crazy,” said Bongiovanni. “It was so much fun. I would do it a million times over.”
Being a student-run organization, the funding responsibilities typically fall on the members themselves. For the performance at the Sixers, the club raised about $500.
For Cassidy Sieber ’26, current co-captain of the club, joining club dance was the perfect way to continue her passion without being too overwhelmed or putting too much pressure on herself.
“I grew up dancing, and I competitively danced my whole life,” Sieber said. “Coming into college, I was a part of another organization, but I still wanted to dance. I met the captain, and they told me about the club and how I should come try it out. I tried it out for a week, and it was the perfect amount of responsibility because it wasn’t too competitive, it was still fun, and I was still able to dance in college.”
At the end of the fall semester, the club dance team elected a new executive board for 2025.
As the new vice president of events, Bongiovanni’s duty is to handle all the social activities such as big/little reveals, formal, team bonding and team dinners. An additional responsibility of all executive board members includes choreographing routines.
“I am so excited to have been elected VP of events because I think it’s super important to create a tight bond outside of just dance practice,” Bongiovanni said.
The team’s main focus this semester is preparing for the spring recital that typically takes place at the end of April. They have secured Bluett Theatre for the performance, which will take place May 1.
“I am mainly excited for the recital. It is such a fun time, preparing all the dances, learning new choreography, and just spending time with all the girls,” Sieber said.
The team’s leaders hope to continue growing the organization as the years go on, giving every dancer an opportunity to be a part of something memorable.
Beginning in fall 2025, SJU Club Dance will be an official club sport rather than a student organization, which will provide the club with more funding and marketing from the school.
“Next fall, SJU Club Dance will completely be rebranded,” Fazzino said. “It has been so amazing watching our program develop into something serious.”
