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Cougarettes' turning prodigy: Brynlee Ruoti

Every year, the BYU Cougarettes work together to craft awe-inspiring routines that are performed at various events and competitions.

Within these routines are different elements such as leaps, jumps, movement and turns included to embellish the dance and captivate the audience.

For dancers, the skill of turning (where the athlete is spinning on one foot through multiple rotations) can be one of the trickiest and most difficult abilities to master. But for one dancer on the BYU Cougarettes, turning is made to look easy.

Brynlee Ruoti is a junior on the BYU Cougarettes and has a “dancer superpower.” She is able to spin for an unnatural period of time and can accumulate a very high number of pirouettes, which is something that's extremely hard to do in the dance world.

Brynlee Ruoti

Her talent for turning blossomed when she was eight years old, as she trained in technique classes at her local dance studio.

“I remember the first time I hit eight pirouettes … after that, I wanted to hit more and more,” Ruoti said.

Ruoti added that the normal dancer can accomplish two to three turns and that to be invited to dance with the Cougarettes you must be able to rotate at least four to five times.

Ruoti said that her high-score number of turns is 22, a number few dancers will ever see during their career.

When asked how she is able to turn without becoming dizzy, Ruoti described the skill of “spotting” during a pirouette.

“A spot is … where you focus on the front as long as you can as you rotate, and then whip your head around as fast as you can,” said Ruoti.

Because of this incredible talent that Ruoti is able to display, the Cougarettes are able to use it to their advantage in the many different routines they perform.

“Turning can be a ‘wow-factor’ in a routine,” Ruoti said.

She said that turns are a requirement within dances for certain competitions, so being able to execute them well has an immeasurable value.

For the past two years, Ruoti has had the opportunity to turn as a soloist for her team in their national-winning jazz routines. Proving that her skill of pirouetting has helped her team earn more success.

See Ruoti turn for her team below at 1:05.

In both routines, she executed her turning combination flawlessly. She described the feelings of nailing her turn solo’s on the nationals floor as “motivating and also validating.”

Ruoti elaborated about her ability to turn for her team by saying she never becomes sick of being asked to turn. She claims to always be willing and grateful for the opportunity to be trusted to do what she loves.

See Ruoti turn in the Cougarettes' nationals routine from last year below at 0:38.

This year, the Cougarettes continue to craft and level-up their routines for their season.

“I can’t share much … but you can expect to see another turn solo from me,” Ruoti said.