Sophomore Kyler Alford joined the Butler dance team this season but has been dancing since he was eleven years old. Photo by Eleanor Angelly.
DOROTHY LAKSHMANAMURTHY | STAFF REPORTER | dlakshmanamurthy@butler.edu
Anxiously peeking out at Hinkle Fieldhouse’s crowd of thousands, sophomore dancer Kyler Alford — who is the first male dancer in Butler Dance team’s history — did not know how people would react to his first appearance at a basketball game as a dance team member.
“I am used to dancing at competitions where I know people are there to watch dance,” Alford said. “But at these games, the dance team is an added entertainment piece. So, I was a little worried.”
However, Alford was surprised to have several people approach him after the game to praise his performance.
“They told me how much my dancing elevated their experience,” Alford said. “Some also asked to take some pictures. These responses really validated me as a dancer and showed that I am doing what I love while being able to make people’s day. I think that is really cool.”
Although this is Alford’s second year at Butler, he decided not to try out for the team his first year here to focus on academics.
This decision was not an easy one for Alford. He was used to going to dance classes each day and attending competitions most weekends with the studio he had been with ever since his childhood friend invited him to Bring A Friend to Dance Day at eleven years old.
Alford quickly realized he missed dance during his first year on campus and resorted to seeking out classes at local studios near Butler.
“Those classes made me realize again how much I love to dance,” Alford said. “I also felt like I needed something else to separate myself from school. I needed something that would let me have fun and that is what dance did.”
Alford’s push to try out for the dance team was initiated by sophomore dancer Grace Nielsen, who was already on the team. She was roommates with Alford’s hometown friend — sophomore Kaela Myer — from whom Nielsen learned that Alford used to dance.
“Kaela told him to show me a video of him dancing but he was like ‘No, no, no,’” Nielsen said. “So we waited until Kyler left and Kaela showed me a video she had on her phone. I immediately was like ‘He is so incredibly talented and he needs to be on the team.’”
Nielsen decided to share the video with dance team head coach Paige Burns. This prompted Burns to pass on the word to Alford that she was interested in having him come to prep clinics to see his dancing in person.
When he showed up to these clinics, Burns was blown away by not only his talent but also his personality.
“His talent was undeniable,” Burns said. “He was so consistent. He was fearless. One of the main things that really stood out to me was his infectious smile. He was — and still is — just super positive.”
After Alford made the team this year, Burns had to come up with brand-new costumes and uniform variations for him. She let Alford be involved in this process by sharing his ideas on what he thought would suit him best but also be the most cohesive with the team.
Burns wanted to ensure that Alford was comfortable and felt like he belonged on the team.
“It is a lot of pressure to put yourself out there,” Burns said. “It takes a lot of courage and bravery to do something new or be the first at something. We had a lot of conversations with him making sure that he was always comfortable because this team is such a special place with a special bond and we want to be sure he feels included in that.”
When Alford danced back at home, he did not have any male dancers to look up to. It was about three years into dancing that some younger boys joined his studio.
Alford wanted to be a role model for those young boys to further encourage them to keep up with their passion.
“I think it would have been really great to have someone to look up to,” Alford said. “Hopefully I was able to be that person for the younger boy dancers at my studio and can still be that person for any boy interested in dancing. I made sure to form a connection with those boys at my studio and I still check up on them from time to time to make sure they are all good and doing what they love.”
From his point of view as both Alford’s brother and a member of the football team, first-year football player Braydon Alford has observed an abundant amount of support for his brother.
Even before the football team found out Braydon was Alford’s brother, Braydon saw that the football team was excited about a male dancer on the dance team. When Braydon told his teammates that they were siblings, it was an added incentive for the team to pay closer attention to the dance team’s routines during game timeouts.
Braydon shares how watching Alford dance throughout his childhood and now during football timeouts makes him happy to see.
“It is about seeing him do what he loves to do and putting his full effort towards it,” Braydon said. “That is something we were both taught from a young age — to put our full effort into whatever it is that we love to do. To see him back dancing after taking a year off, putting in work to be better and being happy with where he is at is my favorite part about what he does.”
Even though having a male dance team member was a first this year, Burns expressed how Alford has quickly grown to be a staple part of their program and a crowd favorite.
“I tried to give the dancers one game off during the rigorous nationals’ practice schedule,” Burns said. “The one game Kyler had off, Hinkle Fieldhouse noticed. People were asking me ‘Where is the boy?’ and wanted to know if he was okay. It was a refreshing thing to see that they cared so much and loved seeing him. Especially at these games, I think it is so awesome that there might be little boys out there watching him and knowing that is an option for them.”
