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(11/30/09 4:23am)
There’s no way you can’t feel weird when you leave somewhere that you’ve called home for the past three months.Driving back to North Carolina from New Orleans last weekend was definitely surreal.I was coming “home,” but I was also leaving the city that I’d grown accustomed to.In some ways, packing up everything that I’d been using for the past 14 weeks felt like packing at the end of studying in Spain last fall.However, flying home from Spain felt more final because I did so with the same people that I had traveled abroad with and experienced new things with.But when you are in a new situation alone, such as when you take a semester off to work, it feels like a random occurrence when you pack up and leave at season’s end.Everybody that you met at your new, temporary home will still be doing the same things at the same places after you’ve returned to your “normal” routine.That’s a strange feeling.There are drawbacks and perks to every new situation.A perk is that you learn something about yourself every time you try something new.In New Orleans, I learned that I don’t like driving through the crowded downtown of a city. I probably shouldn’t be allowed to do so: Other drivers didn’t seem to like it when I drove there either.That’s important to note for future road trips. I’m not above having a valid excuse to not be the designated driver through congested areas.I also learned that New Orleanians love the Saints. Intensely.Businesses shut down early on game days so that everyone can get started tailgating well before kickoff.Furthermore, I don’t have a background in business, but I learned a few things about business administration by working closely with the staff at a nonprofit.It was a risk to withdraw for a semester of guaranteed good times at UNC to move to a place where I virtually didn’t know anybody.However, I didn’t hesitate to do so because I think now’s the time that we should take advantage of all opportunities possible to try new things.We’re still young and very mobile, so why not throw ourselves into as many different situations as possible and meet as diverse an array of people as possible before settling down?As soon as you figure out what makes you happy, whenever and whatever that is, stick with it.Maybe you came to UNC for college but still feel more content when you go home to New York, or Florida, or another country.Fine, move back there after college. You tried North Carolina, but like somewhere else better.At least you gave a new place a try.Then again, maybe you have a summer internship in London and love everything about it there.And at the end of that summer, the company offers you a full-time position after you graduate from UNC.Take it!If it makes you happy, why not give it a shot?It’s your life. Make it one that you’re happy to wake up to every day.
(11/17/09 4:04am)
Sometimes time seems to pass incredibly slowly.When you’re sitting in that class that you hate, staring at the clock tick by on the wall for 50, or if you’re really unfortunate, 75 minutes, you feel as if you’re glued to that seat forever.Everybody feels this way sometimes — no matter what your job is or how you spend your time.Part of being human is sometimes wishing that you could somehow speed up the hands of time.However, it’s also part of the human experience to reflect on the past few days, weeks, months and even years and wonder where time went.In retrospect, life happens fast.Last week, I Skyped a friend studying abroad in Australia, and he had already taken the first of his two final exams earlier that day.That seemed ridiculously early to be taking final exams, but final exams at UNC start in three-and-a-half weeks.You could also think of them as beginning a mere week and a half after UNC’s Thanksgiving break.That thought’s crazy to me.Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it’s still 70 and sunny in New Orleans nearly every day.I’ll take this weather over the recent North Carolina forecast of 50 and rainy any day.But it definitely doesn’t feel like the fall is coming to a close.When you have a set block of time in front of you, most people make a list of things they want to accomplish. This list may be internal or may be written out on paper; it doesn’t make a big difference which.In the case of a semester, which is a little more than three months, it’s easy to feel like you have plenty of time to get everything done that you wanted to accomplish.This mentality is dangerous because it makes putting things off all too easy.Earlier this morning, I checked out the list of restaurants I wanted to try, bands I wanted to see, and other things I wanted to do in New Orleans this fall.Okay, the list was pretty long. I’m going to have a very busy last few weeks in the city if I want to experience everything that I’d hoped to.I told myself in the past that I would be more careful to avoid this fallacy of thinking in the future, but it always seems to happen.It’s hard to push yourself to accomplish everything that you want as soon as possible when you can easily put off finishing things at a more leisurely pace.It’s OK though.Right now, I’m hyping up my game as far as making sure that I experience as much in New Orleans as possible while still here. I can relax later, but I’ll never get back these last few weeks in such a unique city.I imagine that people feel the same way about accomplishing goals during the last few weeks of the fall semester, right before the holidays set in.It’s that time, once again. It’s time to pull yourself together and get everything done that you’d planned on working through during the last few months.You’ll be glad that you stepped up your game and achieved your goals when the fall season’s over. Promise.
(10/28/09 4:30am)
Most seniors find their final year in college to be a mixed bag. Senior year brings with it three years of Chapel Hill know-how so that you can spend your last months of college doing what you most enjoy and with whomever you want. But it’s also your last big dance.It’s your last Halloween on Franklin Street and your last season to enjoy Carolina vs. Duke basketball games as a student.Senior year is fun. But it’s also complex enough without having to stress out about what you’ll be doing with your life a year from now.The fact that we’re in a recession intensifies this pressure.The job outlook in America is still poor.On top of that, enrollment in graduate programs increases during harsh economic times because more students choose to attend graduate school rather than enter an uncertain job market.This isn’t good news for students applying to graduate school for next fall. With more applicants from both the layoff-ridden work force and graduating seniors, admission to graduate schools for fall 2010 will be very selective.So much for grad school being the most straightforward delay tactic into the real world.I have met a good number of first-year graduate students in New Orleans who told me they would not have considered graduate school so early in their lives if more jobs had been available after graduation.I’ve also talked to people who graduated last spring and are disappointed that they haven’t landed a better job since taking the tough plunge into the work force.Disillusioned that their entrance into the working world hasn’t already paid off, some have applied to graduate school for this fall. They rationalize that a graduate degree is the “new undergraduate degree” — or, to put it another way, a prerequisite for a good job these days.I’m agreeing more and more with that statement as the weeks go by.It’s unfortunate that we’re graduating during harsh economic times, but hopefully that fact will only be a glitch in the holistic picture of our college experience.When we’re 50 years old and reminiscing with friends over the college “good life,” we’ll look back and remember Spring Break road trips before we think of the extra stress brought upon us by graduating amidst a pathetic job market.It’d be a lot easier if we could just all stay at Carolina as seniors forever, or at least for a few extra years until the recession recedes. Sadly, that’s not the case.When figuring out what you’ll be doing a year from now, you’ll likely have to explore all your options and be unafraid to try something new.That “something new” may be a full-time job, graduate school, or it may be working or interning for a year before going back to school or searching for a new job.If you really want to change things up, teach abroad for a year, join AmeriCorps or work on a cruise ship. Why not?There is a plethora of options, you just have to figure out what would work best for you and go for it.
(10/15/09 4:42am)
While talking to a friend just over a week ago about her Fall Break plans, I walked over to my calendar.We were, indeed, already well into October.My internship in New Orleans was already halfway over.I decided at that moment to take my own Fall Break — one home to North Carolina for an extended weekend.Going home for a few days made me realize why I love North Carolina, Chapel Hill in particular, so much.For one thing, it was actually fall when I crossed into North Carolina last Thursday.Don’t get me wrong — I love summer weather, it’s great. Nevertheless, it was awesome being home and having it feel like October, or at least what I think of as the autumnal month that culminates in tricks or treats.Meeting friends for dinner Thursday night at Spice Street was weirdly nostalgic, though I’d been there with the same girls not too long before.We even got a piece of free chocolate cake to share. Our waiter remembered us and was sad that he hadn’t seen us in months.He’ll obviously be seeing us again.And for the rest of the weekend, I was happy to see more friends out and about in Chapel Hill.Furthermore, spending a night at home with Mom, my Yorkie (Mojo), a supreme pizza from the local gas station, Ghirardelli brownies and the movie “Hocus Pocus” couldn’t have been more relaxing. Traditions such as those never lose their appeal.Despite all of this, I’m definitely excited to be back in New Orleans as well.There are still a lot of restaurants I want to go to.Also, I’m pretty psyched about going to the “House of Shock” horror show.The Travel Channel has rated “House of Shock” as the “Number One Most Extreme Haunted Attraction.”There’s a strong possibility that I will regret the latter decision a few seconds after purchasing my ticket as I stand in line hearing the screams from within the attraction.But I’m still going to go. I don’t see how I could live so close to such a great Halloween attraction during the Halloween season and not go.I’d feel like a cultural failure.Oh, and Halloween in New Orleans in general. Halloween. In New Orleans.Cannot wait!All Hallow’s Eve should be a decently fun time in New Orleans.But of course, nothing beats Chapel Hill on Halloween. I’m a bit jealous to be missing it.All in all, spending time away from home to learn new things, meet new people, and experience a different culture is very important, and I’m glad that I’m doing so.However, going home for a weekend reminded me why I think of North Carolina as “home.” You feel so much more at ease when you’re at home, wherever that may be for you. You’re just happy to be there and happy to be around your family and friends.With all of this in mind, I will be sad to leave New Orleans at the end of the semester, but I’ll also be excited to be coming home.
(10/02/09 4:26am)
One day last week, I received a message from one of my friends telling me that she and two of our other friends had picked up Mellow Mushroom in Durham for dinner.I was SO jealous — that pizza is killer. There are good pizza places in New Orleans too, but nowhere that I’d drive 20 minutes each way for without a second thought. Then, a few nights ago, another friend texted me that she had just gotten home from The Loop.And their Oreo milk shake had been excellent, per usual.My response : “GO PLAY IN TRAFFIC.”Having not had one of those excellent Oreo shakes since last summer, she knew that I would just about kill for one right now.My friends had sent me joyous messages about the great food they knew how much we had enjoyed from certain Chapel Hill restaurants. And they knew that thinking of those places would remind me of the good times we’d had together while frequenting them.This year’s book selection for a program in New Orleans fits in exactly with this theme of food and place. Every fall, the Young Leadership Council partners with the Literacy Alliance of Greater New Orleans to sponsor “One Book, One New Orleans,” a community-wide campaign for literacy.This community program aims to bring residents of New Orleans together through the shared experience of reading the same book during an annual reading period. This year’s selection is “Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table,” by Sara Roahen.I hadn’t honestly given the book and its message of using a city’s food culture as a way to feel at home in a new place too much thought after reading a few reviews of it in August.However, as I reminisced over just how often in the last few weeks my friends in Chapel Hill had mentioned eating at our local favorites, I understood how true the message of “Gumbo Tales” really is.We, the students of UNC, think of the food we eat and the restaurants that we frequent as an important part of our experience in Chapel Hill as a whole. Needless to say, New Orleans has amazing food as well. From overstuffed fried green tomato and shrimp rémoulade po’ boys to beignets to the fact that it’s acceptable to cover 99 percent of foods consumed in this city in Tabasco, New Orleans cuisine is something to write home about.It’s something that people are very passionate about, from locals to transplants to those who have only visited New Orleans for a weekend but still blabber to their families and friends about how great the city’s Cajun food was.In all of those instances, the force that brings people together and allows them to relate to each other is food.However, it can be just about anything that draws people together, from food to sports to being alumni of the same college. What matters is that this thing is a rallying point around which people with different backgrounds and different interests otherwise can all gather and find some common ground.
(09/16/09 4:20am)
Last Saturday at 8:30am, I sat in Starbucks sipping on a vanilla latte while talking to the intern who held my position at the Young Leadership Council last spring and summer. As we waited for our coffee to be brewed and poured into boxes for the group to drink at the 9 a.m. YLC volunteer event, we got on the subject of how living in New Orleans compared to other cities we’d called home.Erin, the YLC’s prior intern and a 2008 Loyola University graduate, had moved to New Orleans from Arizona and said the two places were strikingly different. I told her that New Orleans had a far more laid back atmosphere than anywhere in North Carolina as well. We agreed that living in New Orleans felt like living abroad in an English-speaking country.The evening of Friday, Sept. 11, the YLC’s first ever “Saints at the Square” event was planned, and a great turnout was forecasted. This concert, accompanied by food, beer and liquor for sale by local vendors, was to be co-hosted by the YLC and the New Orleans Saints to celebrate the kickoff of the Saints’ season against the Detroit Lions.All proceeds would go to YLC community projects.Unfortunately, the concert was canceled a few hours prior to its start due to the amount of rain that had pummeled New Orleans nonstop for the past few days. I helped clean up parts of the square that had already been set up for anticipated vendors, spending the majority of this time working alongside a guy who, after learning I was a Tri Delt at UNC, exclaimed, “Oh, dude! Some of my favorite people in the world are Tri Delts! I tried to pledge Tri Delt in college, but those girls didn’t think it was funny. So I joined Kappa Sig.” Oh, and this guy was wearing a kilt. And he definitely wasn’t Scottish.A few YLC staff members and I decided to deal with this rain-hailed disappointment by heading to Vic’s, an Australian pub a few blocks from the square, for a happy hour or two. There were beach balls hanging from the ceiling and posters of kangaroos posing in interesting positions scattered throughout the bar. Coming here after the frustration of the event cancellation and cleanup was a good call — spirits picked up very quickly. I even utilized my moral compass by not pocketing the $5 bill that a guy kept shoving in my hand to play whatever music I wanted on the pub’s ancient jukebox (having apparently failed to convince him that there were still six song credits left on the machine and that I hadn’t paid for any of them).I’ve been introduced to some great restaurants, bars and shops in the city. I’m honestly confused at how the workers at Slice, an amazing pizzeria 10 minutes from our house and two minutes from my work building, don’t now know me by name.And of course the music here’s great and there’s lots of it in the city’s many venues. And Magazine Street has a plethora of great locally-owned shops. Knowing places to go such as these makes you feel much more at home somewhere new, so I’m glad that I’ve started a mental list of these essential options and only expect the list to grow as weeks pass.Lea Luquire is a Senior Spanish major from Yancyville spending the semester in New OrleansContact Lea at llea@email.unc.edu
(09/03/09 3:08am)
Before moving into their freshman dorm, most college students are already dreaming about their senior year. Your final year in college is the last few months before you start the rest of your life. Otherwise known as the “real world,” the rest of your life entails having to do adult things like work and pay bills — all the things required and expected of a responsible post-college human being.I didn’t move back to Chapel Hill this August. While my friends from school were packing their cars for their next to last semester of the college life, I got in my Jeep and drove to Uptown New Orleans to move in with my 29-year-old brother and my sister-in-law. Only having one Spanish class left to finish my double major in public policy and Spanish, last spring I decided to forego the fall semester of my senior year at Carolina to instead take on an internship. Having visited my brother and my sister-in-law in New Orleans for a week last Christmas break and loving the city, I discussed the possibility with the pair of withdrawing from college for a semester to live with them while taking on an internship.They liked my pitch, so I went online and quickly came across the Young Leadership Council, a nonprofit civic organization developed to foster leadership in the New Orleans area. After learning more about this group, I applied, was interviewed and happily accepted an intern position with their office this fall.I know that New Orleans will be great — the city is so alive. When most people hear “New Orleans,” they think of Katrina and Bourbon Street instead of how interesting the city is, with all of its uniqueness in both people and place. There’s just so much to do here, no matter your interests. There are political organizations with interest meetings and opportunities for active involvement everywhere you turn; Cajun food is absolutely amazing; and if I was in town two weeks earlier, I would have seen midgets dressed up as Oompa-Loompas dance onstage and a band’s performance at Republic, a club in the Warehouse District. You really can’t beat that. Furthermore, there are great coffee shops on every corner of the city; the Young Leadership Council and other nonprofits offer ample opportunities to make a positive difference in the community; and local bands and big names alike play at various bars and clubs nearly every night of every week.It’s exciting to move to a city that you know little about and have the opportunity to explore. Spending four months in Spain last fall changed the way that I viewed many issues by coercing me to think about things on a broader scale. It’s easier to focus on the “big picture” rather than small daily setbacks when you realize how much else is out there in the world. I think my time in New Orleans will have a similar effect on the way I approach situations because it will add to my bank of experiences in a similar manner. For that reason, among others, I think that I made the right decision by taking a semester off from UNC to move to New Orleans for an internship.
(01/31/07 5:00am)
Although Chapel Hill's bi-monthly Flicker Film Festival has been a home for local short film, this month's installment - Wild Wild West Flicker - will screen submissions from as far West as Los Angeles, Calif., and as far East as England.
Flicker, with chapters sprouting up around the world, only accepts 8 mm, Super 8, 16 mm or 35 mm films that don't exceed 15 minutes in length and that have been transferred to VHS or DVD. Film entry is free.
"This particular screening hosts films from Western U.S., Western Europe and Western Canada," Chapel Hill's Flicker director Nicole Triche said. "This show will have 11 different films."
Flicker events have traditionally been held at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, a partnership that owner Frank Heath said he appreciates.
"We enjoy working with different media, not just bands, to add a little more variety to what we do," he said. "We're trying to help out artists regardless if they are musicians or otherwise."
Heath also said Flicker's professionalism and consistent crowds sweeten the deal.
"Flicker always does a great job of getting things organized," he said. "Setting up a theme for a particular night is fun."
Although most people don't picture film festivals when they think of Cat's Cradle, Triche said the festivals are very laid back and people seem to have lots of fun at them.
"It's a great place for area filmmakers to meet other filmmakers."
Flicker also provides opportunities for those not already in film to give it a shot for free thanks to the "hat trick" drawing following each screening. The winner of the raffle is given a camera and topic and ordered to make a film for the next Flicker screening.
UNC freshman Gavin Hackeling, the most recent hat trick winner, will premiere his film - not Wild West-themed - that he made with his friends in his dorm.
"Me and a couple of friends headed down to see (a previous Flicker) from lack of anything else to do, none of us were even into film," Hackeling said.
Having entered his name in the drawing last September, Hackeling borrowed Flicker's camera to make a short film to enter in tonight's festival.
Hackeling chose to document life with his friends in Stacy Residence Hall.
"We're definitely excited about it," Hackeling said of his film, which was sent to Flicker for editing. "We haven't seen the film yet, so it will be as much of a surprise to us as y'all."
Although Cat's Cradle has never sold out for a Flicker showing, Heath says that the first Flicker festival of the semester usually has a good turnout.
"It's usually a pretty decent crowd, we'll get from 100 to 300 people," Heath said.
Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
(11/21/06 5:00am)
CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, this story incorrectly identified the play's character who illegally stages a fishing trip and ward drinking party. The character was Randle McMurphy. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
Everyone has seen the wiseguy anti-hero rebel against the establishment in some form or another.
And in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," this hero is a flamboyant, recently admitted patient in a mental hospital.
(11/14/06 5:00am)
Most famous musicians headline the major venues, increasing their fame and making the big money.
Sandip Burman opts to teach.
The world-renowned musician will return to UNC with his tabla for the third time, playing at 7:30 p.m. today in the Union Auditorium.
"Not only does he play music but he also talks about his views, why he plays and he teaches people about the music he is playing," said Robert Gurdian, Carolina Union Activities Board music chairman.
"He's a very interesting speaker."
Trumpet player Todd Kelly will add a touch of jazz to the show, and vocalist Sima Burman and percussionist Bruce Smith will further enhance this musical mix.
In case you aren't familiar with the tabla, it's a popular Indian percussion instrument - a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres - used in the classical, popular and religious music of India and in Hindustani classical music.
"The tabla is a very popular instrument around the world, especially in India," Burman said.
"Lots of people experiment with it. I went to school and studied and studied the tabla for many years, and still I need to study."
Gurdian said CUAB strives to bring non-Western music to campus in hopes that students will enjoy the performances and experience something new in them.
"His tours are almost always at high schools or colleges, with a few major shows in between at places such as at the D.C. Kennedy Center," Gurdian said.
"He could easily only play for his loyal listeners at big-name venues, but he loves getting an audience that's different and who haven't heard his music before."
Burman agrees that introducing new people to Indian music and the tabla is his main performance goal.
"I want to introduce kids to instruments and styles that they did not know before, like the melody I play on the tabla," he said.
Gurdian said the performance will help students differentiate between styles of Indian music.
One example of the difference can be seen in the way American music almost always uses 4/4 time, while Indian music uses more complex rhythmic cycles, such as 7/4, the seven-beat cycle called Rupak or the 10-beat cycle called Jhaptaal.
"Through Indian music, you will learn how different people in different cultures really do think differently, and this will broaden your aspect of what music truly is," Gurdian said.
Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
(10/26/06 4:00am)
It's described on the play's Web site as a "disturbingly contemporary meditation on the limits of reason, ideology's cruelty and man's eternal search for meaning."
As lead actor Madeline Walters puts it, it's "a real thinker."
Tonight, the Department of Dramatic Art Mainstage's new play, "Danton's Death," raises its curtains at 8 p.m. in the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre.
The Reign of Terror is taking its toll on Paris in 1794, five years into the French Revolution. Robespierre and his Committee of Public Safety are bringing about unparalleled changes in Paris as paranoia, despair and an exceedingly radical dictator are building a new world that was doomed to self-destruct from the start.
The play's protagonist, Danton, was heavily involved in getting the revolution rolling, true to the historical character upon which he is based.
An idealist who always tries to do the right thing, Danton has an inner struggle of idealism versus reality throughout the play.
"My character's struggle is how to know when to give up some of those idealistic values in lieu of the reality facing you," Walters said.
And then there's the guillotine. All it took to get your head chopped off was a citizen suggesting to the Committee that you were not an extreme revolutionary in all regards.
Unlike other major revolutionaries, Danton was very radical at the beginning of the revolution but as he saw that the revolutionary ideals were not being met and upheld, he became more moderate.
"Danton had a very hard time," Walters said. "Because of his falling out with other extremists, one of his friends betrayed him to die at the hand of Robespierre."
"Danton's Death" leads up to that point, depicting Danton's last few days. With the themes of change and anti-establishment in mind, DDA Mainstage decided to shake up modern expectations in this production.
Until rather recently, given theater's long history, plays had all-male casts. To further enhance the play's message, "Danton's Death" will go against modern expectations with an all-female production.
"It's an all-female cast, which is exciting," producer Matthew Baldiga said. "We can take the play to new places with that and we're excited to see how it turns out."
And even that cast seems to work well together, executive producer Matt Farabee said.
"The cast is an 18-woman ensemble that interact with and respond to each other very well," he said. "It makes this a great production."
Baldiga described the play as a "French Revolution drama with mobs and the guillotine."
"It's a cool part of history that I really like," he said. "You will learn a lot about this time in history through dramatic speeches, power struggles and corruption of the characters in it."
And that history, Walters said, is important to the overall message of "Danton's Death."
"The focus of the play is not so much historical accuracy as the themes it represents - feelings of guilt, and was the revolution really worth it," she said.
Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
(10/16/06 4:00am)
Famed American dancer and choreographer Agnes de Mille once said, "To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. This is power, it is glory on earth, and it is yours for the taking."
De Mille's quote appears on the UNC Ballroom Dance Club's Web site, and more and more college students are finding wisdom in her words these days.
In the past few years, ballroom dance has become a phenomenon across the nation's universities. Northeastern schools are the most established members of this trend, but Southeastern ones are catching on fast, said Megan Woltz, N.C. State's Ballroom Dance Club president.
Most people attribute ballroom dance's newfound popularity to now-trendy TV shows such as ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."
"Occasionally people would hear about it and say 'Oh, that's cool,'" Woltz said.
"Then as the shows gained more popularity, more people actually sought me out for information."
And UNC's Ballroom Dance Club has opened its doors to all comers given the style's recent popularity.
Most new club members have no prior experience in the sport. Beginners are always welcome to join, and lessons are free for all UNC students, faculty, staff and spouses.
Community members are also welcome and encouraged to attend.
"I was a freshman when I joined the UNC Ballroom Club," said Christina Salmi, UNC Ballroom Dance Club president. "I had no real dance experience but my roommate convinced me to go. It was pure luck. I went the first time, and it ended up being lots of fun."
Others, such as Woltz, said they rekindled an old passion through ballroom dance.
"I took ballet and tap from the time I was 6 until high school - I didn't realize how much I missed it until I joined the dance team in college.
"It's one of my favorite ways to blow off steam," she said. "It's very physical and social because you're just dancing with close friends - it has definitely added a lot to my life."
Ballroom dance clubs at UNC and surrounding universities offer both club and dance team opportunities.
The difference between the two, Salmi said, lies in one's level of dedication and interest.
"You get out as much time as you put into it," she said.
And while lessons and competitions are divided based on skill and experience, newcomers are encouraged to participate.
"Everyone should check it out," said Makiko Hiromi, Duke University's Ballroom Dance Team undergraduate president. "It's not for everyone, but it's definitely worth trying at least one lesson."
Members of the ballroom dance team often take part in competitions throughout the East Coast.
Routinely, UNC, Duke and N.C. State attend two competitions a year, one in the Washington, D.C., area in October and the N.C. State-sponsored Triangle Open DanceSport Championships in February.
"It's less of a team sport than other sports because it's just you and your partner," Salmi said. "You compete against other people on your school team, and therein lies the competition."
But being at different schools doesn't keep members of dance teams from collaborating with one another - members of dance teams at UNC, N.C. State and Duke often partner with dancers at neighboring universities.
Also, teams from UNC and N.C. State go to the same dance teacher every week for lessons.
"We go to each others' social dances, and we have the same dance coaches," Woltz said. "Just about every weekend we are in a different school or place for a social event."
Salmi said there was a feeling of closeness among the schools, especially when they were in competitions outside the state.
"We even randomly saw each other at Wendy's after a recent competition," she said. "It was cool actually seeing people we knew away from home."
And while each team instills a sense of competition in its dancers, members said intercollegiate camaraderie takes precedence over competitiveness.
"It's a great way to relieve stress and meet new people. It becomes part of who you are," Hiromi said.
"I find myself dancing down hallways, scaring my friends, but you can just never get rid of it.
"Dancing will always be a part of my life."
Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.