The Only Married Member of The Team

Jamie Smith

The attire of the Utah State University dance teams is constantly changing. Each performance entails different costumes and new accessories.

Jamie Smith, however, constantly sports an accessory that no one else does – a wedding ring. 

Out of close to 50 individuals on the three teams combined, Smith is the only member who is married.

Because this is her fourth year on the hip-hop and contemporary teams, Smith feels distanced from the other less experienced freshmen members.

Having now been married since September, Smith feels even more separated from the rest of the team.

“The biggest difference is that now, not only am I older than everyone, I’m married,” she said. “There is a slight barrier that is created. I feel like they look at me as a motherly figure instead of a friend.”

Smith feels that one factor making her appear like a parent instead of a peer is an inability to discuss the same subjects.

“I don’t feel like I have experiences to connect to them,” she said. “I want to have the closeness that you have when you share secrets and stories. Sometimes I think that they don’t want to talk to me because I’m married and in a different place.”

Aside from friendships, teammate Natalie Miller believes that marriage could also negatively effect interaction during performances.

“We do partner dancing sometimes and its crucial that you have chemistry with the person you’re dancing with. That can be awkward if one of you is married,” she said. “The dance world kind of has a culture and it’s not as conducive to married people.”

Because of the long dance hours, being a part of the team also creates a time constraint with Smith’s family life.

“Dance takes up most of Jamie’s spare time, but she loves it, and I’m happy that she is able to do it,” said Jordan Smith, Jamie Smith’s husband. There are certain joys that it brings to her, but also certain stresses that come from being a part of any team.”

To Smith, the constant support of her husband outweighs all of the possible drawbacks.

“Jordan knows how much dance means to me,” Smith said. “He is always encouraging me to try my hardest, and to keep doing what I love.”

“He is at every performance that he can be. He makes a big effort to make it possible for me to dance as much as I do,” she said.

Having danced together since 2008, Kaylee Andrus has seen the way that marriage has helped Smith to grow and progress as a dancer.

“I think that she exudes sexiness more and owns her body even more than she did last year,” Andrus said. “Also I have seen her reach out to a lot more of the girls. I do not know that this correlates directly to her being married, but in my mind it does.”

Smith acknowledges the way that marriage has helped her as a dancer as well as the way dance has helped her as a wife.

“I think dance prepared me for marriage because it helps me understand my feelings,” she said. “Dance is a kind of therapy. It helps me regulate my emotions, and then express them. You really need to know how to express your emotions when you’re married.”

Like his wife, Jordan Smith said that he recognized the positive impact dance has had on her life.

“She gives her whole heart to her dancing, and I can see that when I watch her,” he said. “She’s beautiful.”


(k. lambert)