From fast-paced hip-hop songs to slow and sensual lyrical vibes, MU’s competitive hip-hop team Freestyle Your Expression (FYE) can do it all. For as long as they have been around, there are no limits to what they can do. There’s always something new from the group such as fundraisers, social media posts, dance tryouts and team members going out and promoting their team. It’s time to dive deeper into what they have going on.
Just like many other things in the world, COVID knocked the team down and put a hold on their performances, but that only encouraged them to keep creating for the future ahead of them. The pandemic gave them a way to work with what they had available to them.
“I would just hope in the future that we can implement a hybrid in-person performance, as well as video performances, just to reach a wider audience,” MU senior and co-captain of FYE Brianna Davis said.
On campus, FYE is a dance organization that is under the leadership of the Legion of Black Collegians. According to MU senior and President of the Executive Board of FYE Cierra Britt, its main goal is to cultivate a community of dancers that can express themselves in artistic ways. With a team filled with loving members and energy that will never die out, that purpose stands strong and remains constant from season to season.
On Oct. 3, FYE participated in an event called ‘Y2K Throwblack,’ an event held by the National Pan-Hellenic Council every year for Black students to come and promote their establishments and businesses to others. The event featured a good time with food, live performances and social interaction with many people of different backgrounds.
“We got dressed together as a team and we walked through all the different tables to talk to other organizations to try to get people to sign up for FYE,” Davis said. “I think that all of our hard work definitely paid off.”
Why stop there? The team continued to get back on their feet by breaking through the pandemic’s wall that was there for a year, showing everyone what they’ve been working on.
“In these following months of the semester, we have a community service event that we are planning, we have collaborations with different organizations,” Britt said. “We have a lot in the works for this year.”
The month of October became important for them as they began to search for more members to add onto their team.
“FYE is known for being a pretty large team and we want to keep up that aspect of having a large team,” Davis said. “We want the teamwork to be more recognized on the Mizzou campus.”
Through it all, the crew is a big family, according to Britt and Davis. They treat each other with such love and support, in and out of practice. This squad is about more than just expressing yourself, but also creating those relationships that will last an eternity.
“We try to make the team feel like it’s a family, somewhere you can feel comfortable coming to because no one wants to come to a practice and you feel stressed out,” Britt said. “We want the team to be an outlet.”
As the team neared the end of the fall semester, seniors began to plan their lives after college. Specifically for FYE seniors, it’s came down to having to pass the baton of leadership on to younger members of the team.
“I have pretty high goals for the team,” Davis said. “I think that they’ll be able to do more, much more than what we were able to do just because when we became captains, that’s when COVID hit.”
Tryouts were Oct. 20 to Oct. 22, with more information on their Instagram page. Have questions? Contact Britt through MU Engage or send them a message on their socials. Stay tuned for more events and surprises from this exciting dance team that is climbing their way back to the top.
Edited by Shannon Worley | sworley@themaneater.com
