Freshman Kai Gonzalez-Ellett helps to pump up the crowd on the football field. Gonzalez-Ellett is not a football player, performing plays during the games on Friday nights. Instead, he performs on the sidelines as part of the dance team.

Dance has always been a part of Gonzalez-Ellett’s life, as he has been dancing since he was one. 

“I recently went from The Dance Refinery to Next Level to focus on college-based dancing,” Gonzallez-Ellett said. “I’ve gotten a couple of scholarships, maybe five in my whole lifetime.”

After being a studio dancer, Gonzalez-Ellett said he auditioned for the high school dance team after seeing the professional kind of dancing in college.

“I was so intrigued by it, and I hadn’t learned that there had been a dance team at the high school, but I wasn’t sure if guys were able to join,” Gonzalez-Ellett said. “And when I learned that there was a dance team, I thought that’s what I need to do, and I need to get started on that as soon as I can.” 

Gonzalez-Ellett hopes not only to prepare for college-level dance on the dance team, but also to have a positive impact on the team as well. He said he has dealt with negative comments about being in the dance community since he was young.

 “Guys in this field aren’t going to receive the most love, but I just get through it,” 

Gonzalez-Ellett said. “It doesn’t really matter to me. I think it’s nice for some people to have a guy on the dance team because over the summer, we do like this little junior camp that kids can come into and dance with us, and we perform for them. There were no guys, unfortunately, this year, but my coach has told me that when the last guy was on the dance team after his freshman year, more little kids started coming in. I am excited for that to maybe influence a couple of little guys.”