TAMPA, Fla. — Sean Agustin is bustin’ a move to his own beat.
“My mom signed me up at 5 years old for my first hip hop class,” he said.
Now, the University of South Florida biology major is the first male in the 25-year history of USF’s premier all-girls dance team, the SunDolls.
“They call me the ‘SunDude’ now,” Agustin told ABC Action News sports anchor Kyle Burger. “I always want to break barriers. My mom always wanted me to do that my whole life — to take risks. Seeing that there was no guy, I thought I had no chance.”
You don’t know until you try,
“My dance teacher, mom, and dad told me to just do it. Keep going and I made the team,” he added.
The Pennsylvania native took full advantage of virtual auditions because of the pandemic.
“I came across Sean’s videos and I was immediately just captivated, so impressed,” first-year head coach Jada Davis said. “Top-performer, he got crazy-high scores from me. There’s no question this boy is going to be on this team.”
Agustin has been dancing for over 13 years so he is long past the feeling of not belonging.
“I grew up being the only guy at my dance studio,” Agustin said. “When I was younger, a lot of people were saying how I was the only guy at the studio. Making fun of me honestly. I didn’t care what they said.”
“I think historically when things are set in a certain way it takes a courageous individual to step forward and push through that,” Davis said. “But, the world is changing and I feel like more people need to be more open and see people for who they are and stop putting limits and blocks.”
Davis said that Agustin’s dance technique, versatility, and charisma have shined through.
“Of course, he is drawing attention,” Davis said.”He’s the only male on the team, the first male on the team. People are drawn to him and want to see what he can do. And, he delivers. He lives up to that.”
