BYU Cougarettes announce new plans for the end of the season

During their usual winter semester, the BYU Cougarettes are on the clock, preparing for their national championship competition in Daytona Beach, Florida.

But this year looks a little different for this dance team.

Due to their upcoming participation in BYU's "Cruisin' with the Cougs" event April 11-18, the Cougarettes will not be attending their annual national championship competition this time around.

During their time on board the cruise ship, the Cougarettes will be performing three times — once at the opening show and twice more as they they present a condensed version of their concert performances from this last February.

They will also be hosting a sports camp on board where dancers can take class from the team members.

But before the cruise sets sail, something never been done before has been planned for the Cougarettes.

“We have a pretty exciting project next week,” said coach Stacy Bills.

Bills mentioned that a music video is in the works to showcase a new hip hop routine from the Cougarettes.

Though they won't be competing this new piece, the coaches of the Cougarettes wanted to create an opportunity to showcase the dance routine in a new and creative way.

The choreographer responsible for this new routine and much of the Cougarettes success in the hip hop category is choreographer Shandon Perez.

Perez has an impressive dance background and is most well-known for her outstanding choreography within the dance community.

Working with these BYU dancers for over fifteen years, Perez knows their program inside and out, and has created a multitude of national title winning routines.

This year, Perez has come to BYU's campus multiple times to work on this dance with the Cougarettes.

The last visit before the video shoot consisted of planning each camera shot, creating groups and sections for the piece, and adding visual elements to the routine.

With Perez aiding the coaches in the production of the music video, it is certain to be a jaw-dropping performance.

The video will be shot in multiple locations over many hours to ensure they get the content they need.

“The entire production should be awesome,” Bills said.

As of now there is no solidified release date of the music video, but the filming will take place very soon, pushing the entire process forward.