UMBC Raascals, based at the University of Maryland- Baltimore County, was established in 2004. With several nights of hard work, UMBC Raascals became a well known team throughout the Garba/Raas community and their perseverance led them to a second place win at the prestigious Raas Revolution in 2014. This team continues to amaze the dance community so keep your eyes open for more brilliant performances.
Interview:
How do you recruit new members/hold auditions?
We mainly recruit through Spring and Fall tryouts, which are held every year, and we promote them via social media. We also encourage our friends to tryout and ask their friends to come as well. During these tryouts, we get to know all of the new-comers and teach them the basic steps of Garba/Raas.
How do you approach training freshmen and incorporating them into your team’s culture?
We begin to teach the freshmen step-by-step in order to ensure they know what each movement is supposed to look like. By repeating these steps, it becomes second nature to the dancer. This is the beginning of every dancer's journey. Outside of practice, the team bonds by going out to dinner, sharing memories of past years of Raascals, or even going to the library to study and do homework together. This helps strengthen our bond and our motto “One Team, One Goal, One Family.”
What are your goals for the upcoming season?
Our goal for the upcoming season is RAS (Raas All-Stars), which is the equivalent of our circuit’s Nationals.
What do you think are the biggest challenges within your circuit?
The biggest challenge within the circuit is that sometimes we get carried away with winning competitions and miss getting to know people on other teams.
What do you like most about your team/teammates?
Our team has a good ratio of younger students to older students, so we make time for one another outside of school, which helps in keeping the team close.
What do you enjoy most about your team?
We enjoy getting to make new memories with everyone on the team.
What makes your team different from other teams in the circuit?
Our team is different from other teams in that we have many traditions that have been carried on for years, also we take one picture at every competition in our "drip-drip" formation.
Are there any traditions your team has?
One common tradition is to have one of the girls on our team kiss a statue before the mixer. It is a sign of good luck for us.
What are your team chants?
U M (lead) B C (chorus) x3
What time is it? (Lead) Raas Time! (chorus) x2
Any Raascals in the house? (Lead) AH WOOWOOWOO (Chorus)
Any Raascals in the house? (Lead) AHWOO-AHHH (Chorus)
What performance is your team the most proud of?
We are most proud of our performances at Raas Royalty 2016, Maryland Masti 2016, and A-town Showdown 2014 & 2015.
Have there been any defining moments or particularly memorable moments for your team?
After a year of hard work, our team won 1st place, for the first time last season, at our very last competition, Maryland Masti 2016!
Please list 3 random/ interesting facts about your team:
- We are in our official 7th generation of Raascals, 7G.
- We have the most bid points in the history of Garba/Raas from our 2013-2014 season, 15 bid points.
- Miami is our favorite place to stay and vacation, while at a competition called Miami Mayhem.