Meet Mia Harris

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mia Harris and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mia, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most important factor behind our success is our team’s dedication and mutual respect. As a student-run team, we rely heavily on each other for guidance and support. Being a small team gives us the advantage of creating a close-knit community; we spend so much time together that we’ve become like a family. Each member puts in an incredible amount of work, both in and outside of practice, to prepare us for performances and nationals. Our team consists of exceptionally driven women who have aspirations beyond the team. Most of us are full-time students with part-time jobs, but we never let these commitments detract from our team goals. This dedication has helped us achieve new milestones each year, including several firsts for our program.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The MSU Denver Club Dance Team brings together athletes from the three universities on the Auraria Campus: MSU Denver, CCD, and CU Denver. We’re a competitive dance team that attends the National Dance Alliance College Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida each April. Alongside our national competitions, we actively support school spirit by performing at MSU Denver volleyball and basketball games. Although we’re nationally ranked, our team often flies under the radar within both the dance and university communities. We’re continually advocating for the incredible program we’ve built and hope to leave as a legacy for future students. The highlight of our season is competing at nationals. This year, for the first time in team history, we’re thrilled to compete in both the DII Team and Hip Hop categories. We work on these routines from November through April, a long road of intense practice as we strive for perfection. Our journey to Nationals hasn’t been without challenges. As a self-funded team, we cover all costs for flights, hotels, and registration fees, making participation a significant financial commitment. Additionally, we lack a dedicated practice space on campus, so we rent studios in Centennial, which means some members drive over an hour each way twice a week. Over the past two years, we’ve advocated with university representatives for an on-campus practice space. Despite these obstacles, our passion for dance and our commitment to each other keep us moving forward. Through these challenges, we have built valuable connections within the Denver dance community, including with current and professional dancers who have mentored us not only in dance but also in our growth as young professionals.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Seeing a Red Rocks concert is definitely a must when it comes to Denver! It’s also a great place to visit during the day for an easy hike or a nice photo session. During the summer our team loves to visit Water World for a fun day of team bonding or heading up to Keystone for the weekend during the winter season.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to shoutout our coach Alexis for all of her hard work and support, we wouldn’t be able to do this without you!

Instagram: msudenverdanceteam