Before he knew it, it was halftime and that is when the nerves kicked in.
Freshman Aaron Marshall never expected that when he came to college he would become a part of an all men dance team, known as the “MVP Dance Team.”
Marshall said he got a call one morning and was kind of forced to do it, but he loved it in the end.
“I decided to go ahead and do it after everyone told me I was going to do it anyways, because I really enjoyed learning the dance during practice,” he said. “Leah (Powell) and Dana (Schulz) were really helpful when it came to learning the dance, answering all our questions and stuff.”
The men danced during half time of the Ottawa vs. McPherson football game. Powell and Schulz, both freshmen, choreographed and taught the guys the dance.
“It was really fun teaching the boys the dance,” Powell said. “The boys made it really easy to teach because they picked up on it really fast.”
Marshall said dancing at half time was one of his favorite things he has participated in at OU so far. He said the feeling he got after performing was amazing.
“Before I went on I was really nervous but then the music started and I started doing my thing and it was like the crowd wasn’t even there anymore,” he said. “It was a really awesome feeling.”
Aaron Vaughn was one of the few returners to the MVP Dance Team and was pleased with how it turned out.
“I thought it turned out really good and the whole crowd really seemed to enjoy it,” Vaughn said.
Last year the team was put together secretly. They performed at a home basketball game and surprised the crowd with their dancing skills.
This year it was done with less secrecy, but the crowd loved it all the same.
“We decided to do another dance this year with the boys because everyone really seemed to enjoy it when we performed last year and we got a lot of good feedback from it,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn said he wouldn’t change anything about the performance besides the practice time.
“If we had more time to work on it with everyone I think we could have made it even bigger and better,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn said the MVP Dance Team will also be performing again during basketball season.
“I would recommend anyone to come join us for our next performance,” Marshall said. “It really is a good experience and a good time.”