Inside Furman October, 2000

Furman's Danzer
Laura Thompson has helped the Furman Danzers reach new heights

When Laura Thompson was 6 years old her mother took her to see "The Nutcracker."

But it wasn't the toys, which magically come to life in Tchaikovsky's holiday ballet, that fascinated the first-grader. It was the dancers.

Mesmerized by the prancing, leaping performers, Thompson fell in love with dance and took her first lesson months later. A native of Washington, D.C., Thompson grew up on the dance floor and performing stage.

She has been a member of several dance companies, including those at James Madison, Virginia Tech and the University of Georgia, where she received her undergraduate, master's and doctoral degrees, respectively. Now a Furman biology professor, Thompson has even performed in Broadway plays, danced in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade (it was raining and she caught a cold) and spent a summer dancing at the Busch Gardens amusement park in Williamsburg, Va.

However, by the time she came to Furman in 1987, the physical strains of performing had taken their toll. She gave up dancing, tucked her leotard in the back of her closet and found a new hobby - horses.

But three years ago an e-mail from Les Hicken, director of the Furman band, changed all of that. And her life has not been the same since. Hicken had learned of Thompson's background in dance and asked her to be the faculty advisor for the Furman Danzers, a group of 10 to 15 students who perform dance routines at football and basketball games and other events.

"It was one of those notes that you read and say 'yes' but then you say 'no' because of the time commitment," says Thompson. But it didn't take long for her to rekindle interest in her lost hobby.

Through Thompson's gentle leadership and unbridled enthusiasm, the Furman Danzers have emerged as one of the up-and-coming university dance teams in the Southeast.

This summer the group captured two prizes at a dance camp at the University of Tennessee, where they competed against top university dance teams with large budgets and full-time coaches. Outside groups now call Thompson to inquire about booking the team.

Thompson is quick to stress that the success of the team is student-driven. The group practices eight to 10 hours a week and choreographs some of their own routines.

"The girls come to the group with an extensive background in dance, whether it's in ballet, clogging, modern or jazz," says Thompson. "They do a really good job of working together to make them all look the same."

As a faculty advisor, Thompson says she has been able to use her influence and a penchant for organizing to the group's advantage. She has helped secure additional funding for the team, organized an annual dance camp trip and hired a professional choreographer to work with the girls. She's also been the group's unofficial den mother.

"Dr. Thompson has such a bubbly personality, even at 6 or 7 in the morning," says Robyn Brewer, a senior member of the Danzers and team captain. "She will pretty much do anything for the club. We have really matured with her help."

For her part, Thompson hopes her efforts to build the team - and foster a greater interest in dance on campus - will someday mean that she will have to give up advising role.

"I would really like to get to the point where there is a full-time dance instructor, who would also serve as the Danzers coach, employed at Furman," she says. "Many of the girls who attend Furman are interested in dance and come from dance backgrounds, so I think there is enough interest."