VERMILLION, S.D. -- The University of South Dakota Dance Team will be performing during halftime at the Minnesota Vikings game on Sunday, September 22, in Minneapolis, Minn. The team was invited to perform in conjunction with the NFL Cheerleaders' "Women Helping Women" week.

Tami Krause, Coordinator and Coach of the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders contacted Elise Gosch, Captain of the USD Dance Team, on Tuesday, September 10. Krause has worked closely with the USD Dance Team as their choreographer for national competitions and was excited to extend the invitation.

"The Vikings organization wants to promote healthy, strong, and intelligent women by offering six college dance teams the opportunity to promote their respective institutions, advertise their dance programs, and to enjoy the thrill of performing for over 65,000 fans," said Krause. In addition to USD, the University of Minnesota, Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota State University at Mankato, University of North Dakota, and St. Cloud State University also will be performing. Each team will prepare a routine of up to one and one half minutes and will perform in succession during halftime. Also, each team will be given field passes to watch the Vikings play the Carolina Panthers from field seating.

The USD Dance Team, also known as U-Dance, provides a great opportunity for USD students to dance at the collegiate level. The team dances at pep rallies, all home men's basketball games, and various campus and community events. In addition to university-related performances, U-Dance competes annually at the NDA College National Dance Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida. In the past three years, the team has consistently placed in the top 10 of all division two dance teams in the nation.

The team practices 15-20 hours a week in addition to raising all funds necessary to afford music, uniforms and apparel, travel expenses, and competition entry fees for the season. Two major fundraisers that the team hosts are youth (K-8) and high school dance clinics throughout the year. The first is a Youth Clinic, scheduled for Saturday, October 26 at the DakotaDome in Vermillion. The second fundraiser is an opportunity for high school dance teams to compete at the Fourth Annual Midwest High School Dance Competition on Saturday, November 23 at Vermillion High School. In addition, as the team is self funded, it is happy to accept donations to help with covering costs of all U-Dance activities.