Have you seen Meredith’s newest and hottest dance team, Fuego, dance before? If you haven’t, then you are missing out on watching a fun and energetic group of dancers, all of whom have immense talent. Fuego was originally formed by Daniela Patino-Zabaleta in 2016, who believed adding a Latinx dance team at Meredith was the perfect opportunity to diversify the dance community. Fuego is intentionally a Latin dance team, but it also incorporates hip-hop, contemporary, and jazz dance styles. Fuego is different from other dance teams on campus in that it focuses primarily on forming a family. The dance team currently consists of six women, making it easy for them to become a tight-knit group.
Laura McCall Whitley, a member of Fuego, has credited the dance team for improving her dance skills. The reason Whitley decided to join Fuego over the other Meredith dance teams was because “the girls on the team are very welcoming and they embrace all dancers, no matter their level.” It is no secret this dance team works very hard, especially as of late, but Whitley believes the long hours in the dance studio help the dancers create a bond that is different than any other Meredith dance group. While thinking about her time with Fuego, Whitley believes her best experience with the group was when the group practiced for two consecutive days in the dance studio during winter break. Whitley said, “It was a hard two days since we had practiced for a total of twelve hours, but it offered an amazing bonding experience!”
There will be upcoming chances to watch this group, as they are currently preparing for the Inspire Dance Competition during the first weekend of February. The dancers will be traveling all the way to Charlotte to participate in this competition, which also happens to be their first competition for the year. There will also be another chance to see the group perform at the end of the school year during DanceWorks, an annual event where student choreographers get to showcase their own pieces with Meredith dancers. DanceWorks will take place April 27-29 in Jones Auditorium, and watching Fuego dance is an experience that no one will regret.