What began as individual dance journeys for Butler students Chloe Grubb, Mirabella Russell and Emily Rich — from childhood studios and competition teams to high school and college — brought them together on the dance floor as members of the Indiana Fever’s Fever Inferno Hip-Hop Squad.
Each had a unique path to the Fever Inferno, but their stories crossed.
Russell, a sophomore sports media and strategic communications double major, was the first of the three to join the team. Now in her third year with the Fever Inferno, she first auditioned as a junior at North Central High School, before the team raised its minimum audition age to 18.
Russell danced competitively for most of her life and already knew Fever Inferno coach Michelle Duggan through Duggan’s daughter, whom Russell danced with at her former studio. When Duggan shared an audition opportunity on Instagram, Russell decided to try out.
“I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t decide to try out,” Russell said. “Like without being on this team and being with these people.”
The high praise of being on the team from Russell encouraged Rich, a sophomore psychology and kinesiology double major, to take a shot at being an Inferno dancer.
Rich had been Russell’s suitemate during their first year. When Rich was considering trying out for the Fever Inferno, Russell gave her a nudge.
“She was like, ‘I really want to try out, but I’m nervous,’” Russell said. “I just pushed her to do it.”
Rich already had a strong dance background with a year on the Butler dance team under her belt, making the decision a natural fit.
“Honestly, I had all good things to say about dancing here for Butler’s team,” Rich said. “It was an incredible experience, but there was something that I wanted more. I missed being at more games. I was talking to Mirabella about it and was like ‘Hey, what is the Fever Inferno like? Tell me all about it.’ Everything she said sounded exactly what I was looking for, so I took the chance to try it out.”
However, Rich was not taking on the opportunity alone.
Grubb, a senior psychology and political science double major, danced alongside Rich since they were both about 12 years old. The duo danced together at the same studio, Next Level, on Center Grove’s dance team and then a year with Butler’s dance team.
After Grubb saw the audition callout for the Fever Inferno on Instagram, this was yet another opportunity for her and Rich to take on together.
“Chloe and I have both been working so hard for this,” Rich said. “So, when it came to trying out for the Inferno, we were like, ‘Let’s just do it. Let’s go have fun. If it works out for us, it works out for us. And if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.’ The fact that we grew up together and grew up dancing together and training, and now we are here, is full circle.”
Now, Grubb, Rich and Russell have formed their own close connection within the Fever Inferno.
“We’ve formed a little tight bond between the three of us,” Grubb said. “Since we’re all moved back here for the school year too, we can carpool to practice and spend time together before and after and all of that. It’s really helped me make some friends outside of what I’m already involved in on campus.”
That shared connection is especially valuable in a team where dancers of various backgrounds — including students, teachers and lawyers — balance dance with their personal and professional responsibilities.
For the Butler dancers, that means figuring out how to make a professional dance commitment work alongside the college workload.
“I will say my Google Calendar is my best friend because I’m very busy,” Grubb said. “I just try to make sure I prioritize being a student, and the coaches also understand that. They understand we have lives outside of this. So I can always take a little step back, be like, ‘Hey, I gotta lock in,’ and then I’ll go to practice and do all of that.”
However, with the busy schedule comes notable memories that make the work and long hours worthwhile.
Russell’s favorite memory came during last year’s WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis, when the Inferno performed with GloRilla during halftime.
As the Fever are in the midst of the WNBA playoffs, the trio are experiencing another milestone together that, Duggan notes, also comes with a lot of other work behind the scenes.
“Playoffs is just another beast,” Duggan said. “There’s a lot of celebrities at the games. We’ll have halftime performances with different artists. We have to meet with the artist, do sound check and make sure that their staging was correct. There’s just a lot of extra things that go into playoffs, and unless you work for a sports team, you kind of can’t describe it or explain it. So it’s like you just surrender and you just say, ‘I’ll sleep when it’s over,’ and whatever it takes to make the team behind the team, we do it.”
For Duggan, the biggest reward is watching dancers grow throughout their time with the program. She gets to watch dancers struggle through learning a routine before eventually performing it confidently on the court — and she sees that development in Grubb, Russell and Rich.
“I think they’re all really good role models within the team,” Duggan said. “With the little fans that come to games, yes, we’re all there to watch basketball, but there are certain little kiddos that go just to watch the dancers. I think that’s pretty magical. Like maybe the Mirabella, the Emily and the Chloe are the ones that went to those games to watch the dancers, and here they are on the floor now. They’re really great on the court, and we’re just lucky to have them be a part of it.”