Alan Auyeung performing at Florida Invitational Step Show 2017.

The spotlight was on him and in that moment he strutted forward and commanded the stage, giving a look no one in the audience could forget.

Dancer Alan Auyeung is a 25-year-old pharmacy school student at the University of Florida. He hasn’t always been a dancer, in fact it wasn’t until he began college that he got started.

His first time dancing was in his sophomore year of college with a group called UFFSA, or UF’s Filipino Student Association. After being in a few shows with them he got hooked. One of his favorite shows to perform in was Def Talent Jam, a dance competition held around Halloween time on campus.

Alan didn’t stop with UFFSA. In 2012, he helped co-found a dance crew on campus named Anomaly with a few close friends of his. He also joined an all-boys crew named Apocalypse and has been performing with them for years now.

He has choreographed for many organizations at UF as well. From sexy burlesque pieces to edgy, textural pieces, his choreography is well-known on campus.

“Alan is Jesus. He just shocks me every time with his level of ability,” said Kristen Torres of Anomaly Dance Crew.

The crews consider Alan a dinosaur because he has been dancing at UF for so long. Alan says the reason he continues to dance is for much more than the fun of being on-stage.

“I definitely can be very introverted and struggle with social anxiety sometimes so it’s amazing to have an outlet where I can be confident and strong,” he said.

Alan dancing an end-of-class solo during one of his classes at UF.

He also says it helps him to de-stress when his life gets too much to handle.

Now, in his last year of pharmacy school, he teaches classes on campus and bonds with the crews as much as possible. For the first time ever this semester, both of his crews collaborated for a show. Anomaly and Apocalypse performed together at Florida Invitational Step Show with him by their side. After not performing with the crews for a while, Alan decided to be a part of history and take part in their set. Alan not only danced side-by-side with them on stage, but mentored them along the way.

With all of the success he has had with dancing at UF, Alan continues to remain humble, reminding his crews that they must realize that there is always room to improve and that focusing on the critiques is how to grow best. Above all else, he is grateful to dance for what it has given him.

“It has truly transformed me into a stronger, better person and given me the skills I need to be successful in areas even outside of dance,” he said.

For Alan, dancing at UF is only the beginning. He plans to move to Los Angeles soon, one of the dance capitals of the world. There he will pursue his pharmacy career, but also get to learn from the best-of-the-best. He doesn’t plan to pursue dance professionally, however he will take any opportunities given to him.

“I am just really excited to take classes from amazing dancers that I’ve followed over the past years,” he said.

No matter what, I’m sure we will see Alan teaching a class on campus again in the future. He encourages those who are curious about dance to take a class and see what happens.

“It can be intimidating, but in one way or another it is rewarding in the end,” he said.