Hawkline Captain cheers for national win in Dallas, Texas

For Anna Kate Haman, dance has been a constant part of life. The Hawkline Captain and senior speech language pathology major has been taking professional dance lessons since the age of four.

“I’ve always watched the Hawkline, ever since I was a little girl. I used to come for the football games with my parents,” Haman said.

Haman led the ULM Hawkline to success at the American Collegiate Dance Team competition in Dallas, TX. on March 19. The team claimed the national first place spot in hip hop and third place in jazz.

The dance routines for the competition took around two weeks to create and ten-twelve hours of practice every week to perfect the moves.

“People don’t often see how hard we work. I’ve had people say ‘You make it seem so easy’. But, we practice for a long time to make it look so easy,” Haman admitted.

According to Haman, dance is a “hard art to master”. Dancers have to have a good work ethic to shine. She said that constant practice is the key to perfecting dances and, in turn, making your team look better.

“You’re self-accountable to practicing and making sure you’re doing the right thing at the right time,” she said.

As Haman put it, “there’s always going to be someone better than you,” and this can be used to fuel a dancer’s passion to improve.

Haman has been competing since four years old and was also a part of her high school dance team. Because of her involvement in the dance world since an early age, Haman believes she has got used to the crowd and does not get stage fright very often.

Over the years, dance has become an integral part of Haman’s personality. It has helped her improve in other areas of her life.

“When I was doing ballet, I had to be very disciplined and hold my arms in the right position and point the toes all the way through and hold my head up. I had to do so many things at the same time with my body that now, I’m a pretty good multitasker,” Haman said.

Although dancing has helped Haman to master multitasking, being the Hawkline captain still proves to sometimes be a challenging job. She must balance her schoolwork, her job at a local restraurant and her position as a dance coach at the high school she graduated from with being both a leader and a friend to her teammates.

Haman admits to having a very restricted schedule due to all these activities. However, she said it’s all worth it.

“You get to dance in front of thousands of people wearing sparkly uniforms, doing something that you love. That’s definitely a pro,” Haman said.

Now, Haman is trying to make the most of her time left on the Hawkline before she graduates.

“I’m just trying to enjoy all the practices and performances that we have because I know I won’t be able to experience that again,” she said.

Haman’s time on the Hawkline may be coming to an end, but a national first place win will make sure that she isn’t soon forgotten.