Formed only two months ago, Ball State's hip-hop dance group will join 40 teams in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Saturday, where it will try to dance its way into one of BET's highest-rated annual "Spring Bling" shows.
Outlet, which consists of 12 students, will audition for the reality show "Revamped," which will give two winning dance teams an opportunity to create their own versions of popular music videos by recreating the videos' dance sequences.
Derick Virgil, director of Ball State's Multicultural Center, said after more than 200 professional and college dance teams throughout the country submitted their footage to BET for the second annual "Spring Bling," a staff of BET producers reviewed the tapes and selected the best teams to participate in the audition process. Outlet, which had less than two months to work on its one-minute dance routine, was proud to be one of the 40 groups selected two weeks ago for Saturday's competition.
"Outlet's going against professional dance groups that have been together for years," Virgil said. "It says something about their excellence and their discipline. We have some of the most talented students around, and this is a really good opportunity for Ball State to showcase some talent people have never seen before."
Sophomore Lamar Alexander said he worked with Virgil in early February to form Outlet, whose purpose is to provide an outlet for creative dance styles and to promote diversity on Ball State's campus.
"We're trying to make it really big," said Alexander, who serves as the group's choreographer. "I want to make Outlet a household name. The group will be a great recruiting tool for Ball State."
Virgil said Outlet's other 11 members were selected in February after they participated in a rigorous audition process formatted like FOX-TV's "American Idol." The other members include junior Cami Thomas, senior Kisha Keeney, senior Kenny Daniels, sophomore Arlisha Doctor, sophomore Emmanuel Exum, freshman DeJolea Laster, freshman Krystle Simmons, sophomore Nawaf Melyas, junior Ricky Mesina, freshman Sarah Taylor and freshman Natalie Wesley.
Simmons said throughout the past two months, Outlet has been rehearsing hip-hop and break-dancing dance routines to musical artists such as Usher and B2K. Because Outlet submitted its audition tape in late March and was notified that it would participate in this weekend's competition, members have been rehearsing another one-minute dance routine that combines hip-hop, pop and urban break dancing, Alexander said.
"We don't just dance one certain way," he said. "We can do it all. We're all really talented, and we're just working hard to be the best we can be."
Virgil said on Saturday morning, Outlet and the other preselected teams will participate in an audition process that will be part of a special airing on BET April 29. A panel of producers and celebrities, including Big Tigger of BET's "Rap City," will vote on the two teams that perform the best routines, Simmons said.
BET producers will let each group know what video it will be revamping and will give the groups 24 hours to reconstruct their own dance sequences, she said. On Sunday, the two teams will perform on stage in front of the "Spring Bling" live audience and a live panel of celebrity judges, who will vote to decide which team revamped its video the best.
The event's corporate sponsors have yet to determine the winning team's grand prizes, though the winning team will have an opportunity to film the video it revamped, Virgil said.
Simmons said after the intense practicing Outlet members have participated in throughout the past few weeks, she has no doubt Ball State has the ability to come out on top this year.
"I feel we're prepared," Simmons said. "We're a great group, and everything's coming together very smoothly."-á-á-á
Virgil said before Outlet leaves Friday morning for this weekend's competition, the group will showcase its talents at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Student Center Tally as part of Delta Sigma Theta's Club Delta annual variety show. He said to assist Outlet with its expenses this weekend, gifts can still be sent to Outlet, Multicultural Center, Ball State University, 325 N. McKinley Avenue, Muncie, IN 47304.
Simmons said she appreciates the university's support and is looking forward to competing in "Spring Bling" Saturday. She hopes Outlet's participation will increase Ball State's renown throughout the country, she said.
"Ball State has been getting negative headlines lately, and one of our goals is to put Ball State's name out there in a more positive and endearing light," Simmons said.
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