As the season ended for the Red Edition dance team, Lori Carmichael-Shields announced her resignation as head coach.
“My daughter decided not to come back to school next semester and would not be dancing anymore,” Carmichael-Shields said. “That was my big reason for leaving.”
Carmichael-Shields’ daughter, Tara Shields, sophomore dancer, was a member of the Red Edition dance team from 2009-11.
“I won’t be returning next year because I’m going to Ivy Tech,” Shields said. “I’ve enjoyed having my mom as my coach. She was very professional and treated me as an equal with everyone else on the team.”
Joe Glover, interim athletics director, said they have posted the position as open and are taking applications.
“We’ll review [the applications] as they come in, and it’ll be open ’til the position is filled,” Glover said. “[Coach Carmichael-Shields] has put in a lot of time and effort for the university. We were lucky to have her for the time we did, and she did a great job for us.”
Carmichael-Shields replaced Dianne Sitter as head coach of the Red Edition dance team at IU Southeast four years ago. Sitter had three daughters go through the program during her 10 years in the position.
“Dianne told me when I first started that it was a huge commitment,” Carmichael-Shields said. “She said when my daughter stopped dancing, I might not want to do this anymore.”
Carmichael-Shields said although she thought about continuing to coach the team, she decided it would be too much to do between the fundraising and practices.
Jessica McCollum, Red Edition choreographer and dancer from 2002-06, has worked with Carmichael-Shields on-and-off for more than 10 years at different schools.
“Lori asked me to help her with several routines,” McCollum said, “which I was always happy to do. She’s has been a very special person in my life, and I’ve enjoyed working with her.”
Carmichael-Shields said McCollum is an excellent choreographer.
“She’s always been the first person I’ve turned to when I needed choreography,” Carmichael-Shields said.
Tosha Ridenour, freshman dancer, said her favorite memory of Carmichael-Shields was the ride down to Myrtle Beach, N.C.
“We had a lot of fun in the van playing car ride games and talking,” Ridenour. “We all definitely got to know each other better on this trip.”
Carmichael-Shields said she believed the team did a great job.
The time commitment is one of the main reasons Carmichael-Shields has decided to leave.
For the past 13 years, Carmichael-Shields has owned and managed a medical transcription business in Jeffersonville called ASAP, Inc.
For enjoyment and exercise, Carmichael-Shields said she takes lessons in line dancing, belly dancing and urban line dancing three nights a week at three different studios.
“Now that I have more time, I can actually attend all my classes,” Carmichael-Shields said.
As far as long-term goals, Carmichael-Shields said she hopes to own a studio one day with her daughter, where they would teach non-traditional forms of dance.
Now that Carmichael-Shields is on to other endeavors, the search for her replacement begins.
Glover said he hopes to start interviews in the next few weeks, and hire a new head coach for the summer months to start training and get the team together for next year.
By SAM WEBER
Staff
samweber@ius.edu