Ryerson Dance Pak is a collegiate dance team representing Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Krista Lynn Speller believes what separates them from many of the other collegiate dance
teams in Ontario is their involvement in their athletics department and school community. Many teams in Ontario only or primarily compete. Their team performs and/or appears at all home basketball games, performs during frosh week, alumni weekend and other major sporting events. This past season we even made a music video with their school’s mascot! At basketball games, we are part of the entire “in-game experience,” not just dancing but also interacting with fans and participating in the activities and giveaways. Balancing their commitments on campus, while preparing for their intense competition season, bonds their team together in a unique way.
As Ryerson University’s official dance team, the Ryerson Dance Pak strives to encourage school spirit, entertain Rams fans and represent Ryerson at the top level of competitive collegiate dance. The team was founded in 2004 and has been under the direction of Ryerson alumna, Krista Speller, for all 10 seasons. The team is comprised of 16 talented and dedicated students from all programs of study who perform at Ryerson Rams basketball games as well as competing in collegiate dance competitions every year against up to 22 other university and college dance teams. They love to honor their team traditions, creating lasting memories and friendships, all while continuing to pursue their passion for dance!
Their team focuses mainly on contemporary, jazz and lyrical styles but if there are enough team members with strengths in other styles (hip hop, tap, acro) then those styles may be incorporated.
Krista has had so many “proudest” moments that will stick with her for years. She believes that, in 
general, nothing is as wonderful as stepping back and watching your team be happy, successful and genuinely enjoying themselves. It makes every second of time you put into making this experience for them worth it. Their entire 2013/2014 season also stands out for her. Her group of 16 girls completely committed themselves to their year, allowing them to accomplish more than any team before them. Because they were so willing to give of themselves, they were able to expand their presence on campus and be named the 1st Overall Team at three of their four competitions. After all they had put forth during the season, they deserved their outstanding competition results.
The biggest mistakes Krista sees dancers make whey performing is dancing on top of their music instead of in it. When she watches a dancer, she wants to believe that the music is coming from them and their movements. She believes that if they stopped moving or expressing, the music would stop, too. She feels that they should listen and connect with their music. It should not just be there in the background. The dancer should let it drive them and move them! And, they should always move with intention or purpose.
Krista says they had a very positive experience buying from BDancewear.com. Being from Canada, we had to ship have our order shipped through a family member in the USA but the order still arrived with plenty of time to spare. At their dress rehearsal, we encountered an issue with their shorts, though. I e-mailed Cyndi (the owner of Bailar Dancewear) a bit panicked and she responded to me within the hour. She stood behind her product 100% and resolved our issue immediately. Although our performance was less than a week away, we received replacement shorts in plenty of time. I was blown away by her customer service and her commitment to her customers!
Despite the desire and pressure to defend their three titles this upcoming season, their goal this will be to simply give the best performances possible, to hit their routines and leave the stage feeling 
good and excited about their performance. They will also be striving to maximize their team’s focus and overall conditioning and strength.
When Krista graduated from high school, she wanted to continue dancing in her spare time. (She wants to dance until she’s an old lady!) She sought out opportunities to dance on her university campus and was fortunate enough to make the competitive dance, team. She had an amazing experience with the team but after her first year she switched schools. The new university she was attending did not have a dance team but she was given the opportunity to start one. Building the team for her four years of university shaped her entire university experience. It quickly became hers, as well as many of her team members’, favorite part of school. She wanted to continue giving competitive studio dancers coming to Ryerson an opportunity to continue their passion for dance while simultaneously pursing their chosen career path. Growing the program for 10 years now has been her most rewarding experience.
Their auditions for the 2014/2015 season are just around the corner! They are busy preparing for those auditions as well as frosh week and week of welcome activities. Also, their team will be performing at the Pan Am Games being held in Toronto.
Please post a comment if you have had any experience with Ryerson Dance Pak or Krista Lynn Speller.
You can also learn more about Ryerson Dance Pak on their facebook page at www.facebook.com/ryersondancepak. You can also look at Ryerson University’s site at http://www.rec.ryersonrams.ca and then select “Sport Club” and then choose “Ryerson Dance Pak.”
