Kodiak dance team picked to perform at bowl game

“This is a great opportunity to not only showcase our skills on such a grand stage, but to also have the students to be able to cheer, dance and perform at the college level in a big stadium, TV cameras and large crowds bigger than the population of Kodiak Island,” dance team coach Sarah Nugent said. 

Nugent, in her 13th year as coach, knows a thing or two about performing at the college level. While attending the University of New Mexico, she had the opportunity to perform in the Lobo mascot costume. She never performed at a bowl game because she went home for the winter break, so this will be her debut at a postseason football game. 

“I won’t be performing,” she laughed. “I’ll just be on the sideline.” 

The trip to Florida has been years in the making. In 2019, four members of Just for Kix — the company that directs the halftime show — did a dance camp in Kodiak. They were impressed with the local dancers and invited the team to perform. With only months to fundraise for the trip, Nugent declined, hoping to attend the bowl game in 2020 or 2021. The pandemic canceled those plans. 

The invitation was extended to this year’s college football season. Nugent gladly accepted.    

“We are finally getting to do the bowl game performance, hopefully,” she said. 

Kodiak last attended a bowl game in 2004 when the Joy Green-coached team danced at the Capital One Bowl. 

Nugent said Kodiak would be one of about a dozen teams performing during the halftime show. They will get sent a video of the dance and practice the choreography before leaving the island. The team will be performing before the game and during halftime. The trip will be mostly paid for through fundraising and include days at Clearwater Beach and Busch Gardens. 

“We are going to work hard and play hard,” said Nugent, who toured the stadium and met with Just for Kix directors during the summer. 

Nugent is hoping performing at a bowl game will help rebuild the program. There were only 10 dancers on last season’s team — 14 dancers are on this year’s team, but Nugent might hold another tryout soon. On average, the team has between 20 and 25 performers. 

“Last year was a smaller year,” Nugent said. “We were still in COVID and a lot of parents were still not comfortable having kids join activities. That wasn’t just with the dance team but across the board.”