They've been heating up halftimes at the Palestra since 2001. But the Quaker Girls dance team has one request: Please don't confuse them with the cheerleading squad.
Tryouts for the Girls were held Sunday in a room tucked away in the corner of the Pottruck Fitness Center, with a record 45 prospective dancers trying out. If there were any severe cases of nerves, they must have left them in their gym bags.
Sarah Brown, a first-year student from Alaska, approached the tryout relaxed. She talked about the tryout format as if she had been through it before.
"I'm not really nervous, I'm just here to have fun," she said.
Senior co-captain Meredith Nussbaum admitted to being a high-school cheerleader, like most of the new girls trying out for this year's team. In fact, most of the girls have had preparation that has come in handy for the dance team, even indirectly.
"I love it, I've loved it since day one," said Nussbaum, who has been dancing since the age of five.
Junior Sarah Wexler showed up 30 minutes early. Her training had been in gymnastics rather than dance - she competed the last two years on Penn's varsity team - but that also seems to be representative of many of the girls in the group.
Last year, in addition to performing at seven home men's basketball games, the team performed at different venues, including the Relay For Life, Dance Marathon and City Steps Battle of the Dance. The dancers practiced seven days a week for a three-week period in February and March.
That came in handy when they were invited to perform at a pregame for the Philadelphia 76ers.
"We went pro for a show," Nussbaum said.
Five minutes into Sunday's tryout, the group was clearly split between the pros and the amateurs. Many of the girls seemed to pick up on the complex dance steps with ease, while others struggled to catch on.
Nonetheless, junior co-captain Aubrey Yamada thought it would be difficult to narrow the field to the desired number of participants.
"They should look like they're having fun and they should have a good attitude," she said.
The team held a tryout last night for those who could not make the one on Sunday and expects to make its decision today, according to Nussbaum. She expects the final squad will have 15-18 women.
At times last season, the team faced a chorus of boos and hecklers, but that has not discouraged them and they are determined to win the respect of their peers and support from the fans.
"We don't consider that the team has a bad reputation," said Naussbaum in defense of the Quaker Girls. But she doesn't like to take her time defending the squad either way.
In the end, she hopes, their dance will speak for itself.
