By Elizabeth McIff
World of Dance offers talent illuminated by bright lights and flashy costumes, but behind the scene these dancers are BYU students looking for love both on and off the stage.
'It''s been known that ballroom and folk is where you meet your eternal companion, or so I''ve heard,' said Ashley Marostica, 22, a modern dance major from Portland and member of the Dancers Company.
Every year, relationships as well as marriages are formed through the bonds built in the BYU dance companies.
'The strongest relationships you build are on the team, so it is easy to get in a love relationship,' said Mitcee Collings, 23, a ballroom dance major from South Jordan. Collings married Jared, a member of the ballroom dance team, seven months ago.
Folk dancers Ben and Keenan White were married Aug. 2 of this year. They said it is no fun being in a folk dance romance because everyone is in your relationship.
'No one even knew we were dating until we got engaged,' Keenan White said. 'We were very quiet about it because we didn''t want it to be a distraction.'
The Whites believe being married and on the team has its benefits because they get to travel with the team all over the world at a discounted rate.
Ed Austin, director of the BYU Folk Dance team, said it''s different having newly married couples on the team.
'It''s a delicate time when you first get married,' Austin said. 'Keenan and Ben are great, but some have a hard time being a married couple and a team player.'
Of the dancers who are not currently in a relationship, most are open to dating a dancer.
'I think it would be nice to marry someone who dances because then he could understand what I do with my time and appreciate it,' said Robin McLelland, 21, a modern dance major from Salt Lake City.
When it comes to relationships there is a difference between just dating a dancer and dating a teammate said Alexandra Beach, 20, from Sacramento majoring in French and composite dance.
'I have inter-team dated twice and it didn''t work out either time,' Beach said. 'It was really fun, but I am all about dating members of other teams, not my own.'
Austin found the love of his life through college dance and therefore thinks there is real potential for those who find love within dance companies.
'If you are looking for love, then be a dancer,' Ben White said. 'It''s really not that fruity and we get to travel every year.'
The initial reason men try out for dance team is because they are looking for love, Austin said. As they move up the ladder and make it on the team, however, their motives change.
Morgan Busath, 20, from Sacramento majoring in therapeutic recreation and member of the folk dance team agrees with Austin.
'When we recruit, we tell guys there are a lot of girls on the team,' Busath said, 'It really is the reason they first try out.'
By the time some of the dancers make it onto the folk team, they have such close relationships romantic love is not an option.
'At our level, all the guys are like brothers,' said Penny Taylor, 21, a physical education major from Sacramento, Calif. 'We laugh at the guys on our team all the time as they flirt with other girls from other teams.'
Tyler Stinson, 23, an economics major from Oceanside, Calif., agrees that his female teammates think of the men as brothers. His only comment on the situation: 'I don''t like it.'