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>> FROM CHA-CHA TO MAMBO TO SWING, THE PURDUE LATIN
AND BALLROOM DANCE TEAM WILL ASTOUND YOU
WITH THEIR GREAT MOVES.
THIS NATIONALLY KNOWN CLUB WELCOMES STUDENTS
OF ALL LEVELS OF EXPERIENCE.
SO IF YOU THINK YOU'RE READY TO GET SWEPT OFF YOUR FEET,
THIS MIGHT BE THE CLUB FOR YOU.
ARE YOU READY, GUYS?
[ ALL CHEERING ]
[ MID-TEMPO DANCE MUSIC PLAYS ]
I'M HERE WITH KRIS EZRA.
HE'S THE PRESIDENT OF THE PURDUE LATIN AND BALLROOM DANCE TEAM.
CHRIS, WHAT'S IT LIKE BEING IN THE TEAM?
>> OH, IT'S GREAT.
IT WAS A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW?
I GOT HERE WHEN I WAS A FRESHMAN, AND I WENT
AND DID SOME KARATE AND SOME OTHER GROUPS,
AND IT JUST WASN'T DOING ANYTHING FOR ME.
BUT SINCE I MOVED HERE MY JUNIOR YEAR OVER TO THE DANCE TEAM,
I'VE HAD NOTHING BUT GOOD LUCK.
>> AND WHAT WOULD YOU TELL STUDENTS THAT DON'T FEEL
LIKE THEY HAVE ENOUGH ABILITY TO BE ON THE TEAM?
>> WELL, I JOINED THE TEAM WHEN I WAS A JUNIOR,
AND I'D NEVER DANCED A STEP IN MY LIFE.
SO, REALLY, THEY CAN TURN YOU FROM SOME GUY
WHO HAS TWO LEFT FEET INTO A TV-STYLE DANCER, I GUESS.
>> SO, WHAT WAS IT LIKE BEING ON NATIONAL TV, COMPETING?
>> WELL, WE KNEW WHEN WE WERE COMING INTO THIS SHOW
THAT WE WERE MORE THAN JUST THE LATIN AND BALLROOM DANCE TEAM.
WE WERE THE PURDUE LATIN AND BALLROOM DANCE TEAM,
SO WHATEVER WE DID HAD TO REFLECT REALLY STRONGLY
ON PURDUE, AND WHILE THAT WAS A LOT OF PRESSURE
IN THE BEGINNING, IT ACTUALLY WAS A REALLY GOOD DRIVER
TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GOT THE ROUTINES PERFECT
AND THAT WE COULD GO OUT AND GET SECOND PLACE
ON "DANCING WITH THE STARS."
BUT APART FROM BEING REALLY DIFFICULT,
WE HAD A LOT, A LOT OF FUN.
WE MET JAMIE FOXX, AND WE MET A LOT OF THE
"AMERICAN IDOL" PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY SHARE THE SAME HALLWAY
IN THAT BUILDING, IT TURNS OUT.
AND MOST OF THE STARS AND ALL OF THEM ARE SUPER-NICE PEOPLE,
AND IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE.
I'D DO IT AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT.
>> SO, KRIS, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE YOU EXPECTING
AT THE CALL-OUT TONIGHT?
>> IT'S REALLY HARD TO SAY.
OUR TYPICAL CALL OUT HAS 400 PEOPLE, 500 PEOPLE, BUT NOW,
AFTER "DANCING WITH THE STARS" AND HANDING
OUT 3,000 OR 4,000 FLIERS.
WE COULD EASILY SEE 700 PEOPLE HERE TONIGHT.
COULD BE LIKE THE OLD DAYS.
IT'S ONE OF THE FEW SPORTS THAT YOU CAN DO
WITH A SIGNIFICANT OTHER, THAT YOU CAN DO BY YOURSELF
OR WITH A TEAM, OR REALLY ENJOY IT IN ANY NUMBER OF WAYS,
AND THAT'S REALLY, I THINK, BEEN A BIG PART
IN KEEPING DANCE STRONG.
>> I'M HERE WITH YUEHWERN YIH, THE HEAD COACH
OF THE PURDUE LATIN AND BALLROOM DANCE TEAM.
YUEHWERN, WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME
ABOUT THE BACKGROUND OF THE TEAM?
>> WELL, THE TEAM HAD STARTED ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO,
AND WE HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH A LOT OF GROWTH.
AND RIGHT NOW, WE ARE REALLY AT THE POINT
THAT WE CAN REALLY MOVE TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
SO WHEN WE GOT INVOLVED WITH "DANCING WITH THE STARS,"
THEY ARE -- A LOT OF COLLEGES BEING ASKED TO PERFORM
AND COMPETE IN THAT EVENT.
AND WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS WE HAVE TO SUBMIT AN AUDITION TAPE
AND COMPETE TO GET ON THE SPOT.
AND ONCE WE GOT ON TV, WE GOT A LOT OF SUPPORT NOT JUST
FROM OUR PURDUE COMMUNITY BUT ALSO THE BIG TEN.
>> AND I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU'RE A PROFESSOR HERE AT PURDUE.
WHAT DO YOU TEACH?
>> I TEACH INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING.
>> HEY, GUYS, WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING HERE?
ARE YOU HERE JUST TO WATCH?
YOU GONNA TRY OUT?
>> BOTH, I THINK.
>> MAYBE, YEAH.
>> YEAH? WHAT BROUGHT YOU HERE?
>> I DON'T KNOW.
WE HEARD ABOUT IT, AND I'VE NEVER DONE BALLROOM DANCING
BEFORE, SO I WANTED TO TRY IT.
>> THERE ARE SEVERAL LEVELS OF DANCERS HERE AT PURDUE
IN THE PURDUE BALLROOM TEAM, AND THE COOL THING IS,
SOME OF THE DANCERS THAT ARE
ON THE TEAM NOW NEVER DANCED BEFORE THEY GOT TO PURDUE,
YET THEY ARE RIDICULOUSLY GOOD.
AND SO THEY DO A VERY GOOD JOB TEACHING
AND TRAINING EVERYBODY HOW TO DANCE.
>> SO IF YOU LOVE DANCING OR YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED
TO LEARN HOW, THEN THE PURDUE LATIN
AND BALLROOM DANCE TEAM IS THE PLACE FOR YOU.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, YOU CAN VISIT THEIR WEBSITE
AT www.purdueballroom.org.
FOR "BOILER BYTES," I'M AURIE SWARTZ.