Senior takes life long love for dance from State College to Altoona
Alissa Cocolin founded the Penn State Altoona Dance Team in 2009. The Penn State senior has been dancing for most of her life and still has the passion for it 17 years later.
Cocolin has competed in numerous dance competitions and has performed in parades and school sporting events.
She has been the co - captian/head coach of the dance team for the past four years.
The dance team performs at home basketball games and competes in nationwide dance competitions. Penn State Altoona competes against other Penn State branch campuses and Slippery Rock University.
Cocolin no longer dances for the dance team but is now the head coach. Cocolin also teaches classes to young children and occasionally dances for herself as a stress reliever.
The entire Cocolin family is full of dancers. The youngest Cocolin, Andrea, is a Lionette at Penn State University.
Alissa Cocolin has a strong passion for and cannot imagine it not being a part of her life. She holds clinics as often as she can for future Lionettes hopefuls.
She hopes to open her own dance studio one day to make people fall in love with dance the same way she did.
Becoming a Dancer
For Cocolin, sports were never her strong suit. Her parents needed to find some way to occupy their child with something she loved. Soccer and gymnastics never stuck but dance seemed to be a perfect fit. Today she loves dance just as much as she did when she first started.
