Meet the Rice Owls Dance Team!

Marissa Giangiorgi 

Captain

Baker

Marissa is a Senior from Lake Bluff, Illinois. This is her fourth year on the team and she is studying Sports Medicine, Exercise Physiology (Kinesiology), and Business (Finance). Outside of dance, she likes cooking/barbequing, crafting, binging TV, and napping. Her favorite thing about the team is having the opportunity to dance with her friends.

 

 

Ashley Weeks

Captain

Baker

Ashley is a fourth-year Senior from Ladera Ranch, California majoring in Biosciences with a concentration in Cell Biology and Genetics and minoring in Neuroscience. In her free time, Ashley enjoys baking & hiking with my dogs! Her favorite thing about the dance team is how fun & supportive all the members are! She wouldn’t want to learn new choreography and perform with everyone else! :)

 

 

McKenzie Jameson

Co-Captain

Brown

McKenzie is a Junior from Bethesda, Maryland and this is her third year on the team. She is majoring in History and minoring in Politics, Law and Social Thought, and French studies. She loves to read, bake, make lattes, and Duolingo new languages. She is also a huge tennis and football fan! Her favorite thing about the dance team is spending time with her favorite people on campus and learning new choreography.

 

 

Annie Tian

Co-Captain

Duncan

Annie is a third-year Junior from Dallas, Texas, majoring in Health Science and minoring in Bioscience. She is also on the pre-dental track for orthodontics. Outside of the dance team, she likes pilates, hiking, and going to brunch. Her favorite part about the dance team is the beautiful friendships and memories that she has made on the team!

 

 

Becca Zadeck

President

Sid Rich

Becca is a Senior from Westchester, NY and this is her fourth year on the team. She is majoring in Physics and History. Outside of the dance team, Becca’s favorite activity is to ski! Her favorite thing about the team is not only the dancing aspect but also hanging out with some of the nicest and most fun people on campus!

 

 

Lindsey Russ

Vice-President

Lovett

Hailing from Roslyn, NY, Lindsey is a junior majoring in Electrical Engineering at Rice University. Lindsey has a passion for a ton of things music-related and was heavily debating between music or engineering pre-college. Her favorite thing about the dance team is the people! She describes it as a good community and enjoys having a break from her work to come dance with these special people.

 

 

Natalie Burnham

Secretary

Wiess

Natalie is a Sophomore from Denver, CO and this is her second year on the team. She is majoring in Philosophy and is also on the Pre-Dental track. She enjoys baking and cooking, reading books, skiing, and going to art museums. Natalie’s favorite thing about being on the dance team was being able to cheer on the Rice Owls in double overtime against University of Houston.

 

 

Joshua Fang

Treasurer

Hanszen

Josh is a Senior from Cypress, TX and this is their fourth year on the team. They are majoring in Mathematical Economic Analysis and Social Policy Analysis and minoring in Data Science. When they’re not dancing, Josh enjoys baking/making desserts, doing yoga, and being civically engaged. Josh has a soft spot for all things matcha (yes, the green tea). They’re happy to be growing as a dancer alongside their teammates.

 

 

Sopheena Toovey

Historian

Sid Rich

Soph is a Junior from Dubbo, Australia and this is her third year on the team! She is majoring in Psychology. When she’s not dancing, she enjoys listening to music, going for walks, and traveling. Fun fact about Soph: she used to have pet joey’s growing up. Her favorite thing about the dance team is that she gets to make friends across all residential colleges that she would never have made if it wasn’t for meeting them on this team.

 

 

Vivian Lang

Historian

Will Rice

Vivian is a Junior from Austin, TX and this is her third year on the team. She is studying Bioengineering. Outside of dance, she enjoys drawing and playing poker. Her favorite part about being on the dance team is getting to know the amazing people and having fun at school events!

 

 

Skye Fredericks 

Social

Jones

Skye is a Senior and this is her third year on the team. She is double majoring in Anthropology and Social Policy Analysis, and minoring in Poverty, Justice, and Human Capabilities. Skye loves music and is actually a DJ for KTRU! Her favorite thing about being on the team is the community it has given her to come back to no matter what.

 

 

Chelsea An

Jones

Chelsea is a Sophomore from Los Angeles, CA and this is her second year on the team. She is majoring in Biosciences, Cell Biology, and Genetics. Chelsea loves reading, listening to music, traveling, and her cat Mozz! Her favorite thing about being on the team is making memories with such amazing people and performing at Spring Show.

 

 

Lindsey Frost

Will Rice

Lindsey is a Sophomore from San Diego, California and this is her second year on the team! She is studying Business and Sport Management. Lindsey’s hobbies include playing lacrosse, hanging out with friends, going to the beach, and reading. Her favorite thing about being on the team is performing with her teammates and creating life long memories! Go Owls!

 

 

Elise Shu

Will Rice

Elise is a Sophomore from Houston, TX and this is her second year on the team. She is double majoring in Business with a concentration in Management as well as Psychology. She also plans to minor in Politics, Law, and Social Thought. A fun fact about her is that she trained in classical ballet for over 16 years and trained with the Houston Ballet Academy. Her favorite thing about being on the team is being able to build friendships with her teammates. She is super excited for her second season on the team and cannot wait to perform with the team again!

 

 

Sofia Del Francia

Lovett

Sofia is a Freshman from Clearwater, Florida majoring in Business Finance. She likes to bake and do film photography. An interesting fact is that Sofia went to boarding school in Oregon! She is most excited to work with her team, learn fun routines, and grow close bonds with her teammates.

 

 

Mishel Dhanani

Sid Richardson

Mishel is a Freshman from Waco, Texas, and is double majoring in Business and Psychology. She owns her own business called Subzero Nitrogen Ice Cream at Baylor University! Mishel’s hobbies include Snowboarding, Skiing, Traveling (she has been to 36 countries!), Weightlifting, Running, Painting, Baking, Tumbling, Gymnastics, Teaching, and Eating. A fun fact about her is in the future she would like to build a school for young kids (she is unsure if she wants it to be domestic or international)! Another fact about Mishel is that she wants to be an NFL or NBA cheerleader/dancer in the near future! She is most looking forward to building relationships with her teammates and enhancing her dancing skills.

 

 

Angie Huff

Will Rice

Angie is a Freshman from Hillsborough, New Jersey, and is double majoring in Psychology and Computer Science. She enjoys reading, listening to music, and spending time with animals. Angie is most excited to make a strong bond with the team and get to cheer on the Owls at the college games.

 

 

Sophia Lannie

Sid Richardson

Sophia is a Freshman from Mont Belvieu, Texas, and is majoring in Chemistry. She loves hiking, karaoke, and reading or watching shows on rainy days. Sophia is most looking forward to forming close bonds with her teammates!

 

 

Anwesha Parida

Wiess

Anwesha is a Freshman from Dubai, UAE and is double majoring in Sports Medicine and Sports Management. She loves hiking, spending time at the beach and drinking coffee! Anwesha is most looking forward to dancing at the Spring Show case!

 

 

Atsuko Price

Lovett

Atsuko is a Freshman from League City, Texas, and is majoring in Bioscience. She is interested in physics and cinematography. Atsuko is most looking forward to learning fun dances and dancing in the Spring Show.

 

 

Kirsten Sahlin 

Sid Richardson

Kirsten is a Freshman from Johnston, Iowa, and is majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. She loves to read and play board games and card games. Kirsten is most looking forward to supporting the Owls, performing at events, and being part of a wonderful community!