By Yao-Yao Kelly '06 and Debbi Sutunivorakoon '05

"Dancing PGs" may seem like an oxymoron, but not this year. PGs Chase Carlisle, Ben Prime, Beau Jones, and Dom Uguccioni hit the stage with the same passion with which they hit the playing fields.

What could possibly have persuaded these four brawny jocks to enter into the world of tutus and Swan Lake?

For Uguccioni it was the chance to try something new. A dedicated varsity football player and a master at shot put, he realized early on that dance would help increase his overall flexibility and athleticism. During our interview, Uguccioni was, in fact, lauded by teammate Carlisle as "the most flexible guy in class," but regrettably declines to demonstrate in his class dress.

Uguccioni is able to incorporate his shotput moves into his major dance piece, a duet with Jess Chou '06.

"The beginning turn I do with the discus is actually a technical move in dance," he explained.

Despite his comfort discussing dance classes in a crowded dining hall, Uguccioni isn't too sure how accepting his friends at home would be about his newfound interest in dance. "They would probably say, 'Oh look at you, you nancy boy, doing dance."

Deerfield, on the other hand, has been very supportive of the PG dancers. Dance teacher Jen Whitcomb in particular recognizes that it is a special opportunity to have PGs who appreciate dance. This is the first year that we have had PGs in the dance program.

Ms. Whitcomb said, "Usually, they don't realize until halfway through the year that dance is cool here at Deerfield. There is a lot of raw material that goes into the great dancers we have in these four men, and they play a pivotal role in our dance program."

Prime's driving force for taking dance is a desire to better himself as an athlete and become more flexible. "I joined dance so I can bend nicely," he said. He inadvertently admits to being a novice at dance. ("Scroll: Does dance make you popular with the ladies? Prime: Yeah, wait, what was the question? No, I am not a good dancer.")

Prime choreographs his own dances and is currently working on a piece to the music of Footloose. He says they have mostly danced to Rusted Root, Jamiroquai, and 80's music. He shares with us the experience of dancing with his fellow PGs. "We get really close to each other. . . off the record," he said, smiling and adjusting his pants.

Carlisle echoes these sentiments, saying the guys know each other so well they often find themselves ending each other's sentences. They often choreograph dances together. Carlisle, Prime, Jones and Paul Baier '04 worked together on a dance which had to feature a prop. "We chose to use a football," Carlisle said.

"We incorporate hip hop music and modern beats to our moves, and there are definitely some end zone dances in there." Carlisle attributes his musical influences to Andrea Bocelli, Pavarotti and, of course, Dave Matthews (because "he'll fit in better"). He says that dance has not only improved his strength and flexibility as an athlete, but at the same time has allowed him to "discover [his] inner child," although he finds it "doubtful" that that inner child has helped him in the dating department.

Jones, always the ladies man, and frequently too preoccupied with various girls during the interview to answer our questions with anything more coherent than his extension, jumped aboard the soul train "because the girls are hot." For Jones, taking dance was a leap of faith. His friends down south "would think it was a joke" and if it wasn't for DA, dance would never have been an option.

However, Jones has easily assimilated himself into both the dance and athletic aspects of DA life. He attributes his success to Ms. Whitcomb, who is, in his esteemed opinion, "second only to, no, tied to, Baryshnikov."

As quarterback of the varsity football team, Jones takes great pride in (literally) being able to dance circles around Choate. Though he hasn't experienced our famed Choate Day yet, he says "I'm definitely excited and looking forward to it."

Ever faithful to his sport, Jones joins Prime and Carlisle choreographing "a pop dance using moves and cool tricks we do from football. After all," he says, "that's all we know."