Choreography for Christ: D-Trex Dance Crew Worships Through Dance

Liberty University’s D-TREX Dance Crew have mesmerized and ministered to audiences from all walks of life through its captivating choreography and passion for Christ.

But what sets D-TREX apart?

“D-TREX stands for Death to Resurrection,” Olivia Tadlock, the spiritual leader of the team, said.

According to Tadlock, the team has built their foundation on Romans 6 and the transformative power of being dead to sin and alive to God.

“We like to use dance as a means to express (Romans 6) and a means to share Christ’s love with the world and the student body in that way,” Tadlock said.

D-TREX not only strives to express this message through its dance routines, but the dancers also seek to incorporate biblical values into their daily lives.

“We talk a lot about having a heart posture of worship,” team member Lulu DuPuis said. “Even if we’re doing dances to a secular song or even if it’s not a worship piece, we’re always worshiping as we dance.”

Through this heart posture, DuPuis believes the team will be able to “take back” dance from the perverted ways the world views the medium.

D-TREX was and is “student led” but was also “student created” by Liberty alum Niko Lanuang in 2011.  D-TREX is currently led by its captain and co-captain, Mia DeFazio and Anna Hall.   

According to Hall, the team’s goal is to apply their values and mission to their ministry piece and focus on how they can apply what they are learning about the Word of God into what they are dancing to.

“Every year we do a ministry piece, … and last year we did it to the song ‘Big God,’ so we incorporated that theme into our Bible studies by studying the attributes of God,” Hall said.

Hall believes that everything the team does is “overly coated in prayer,” and they take every opportunity they can to trust God and ask him for help even in the little things. According to Hall, the group even prays before developing choreography.

From studying the Bible as a team to praying over every detail, D-TREX glorifies the Lord through its passion for Jesus, energetic choreography and passion for worship.

Hall, Tadlock and DuPuis all aspire to dance for as long as they can and grow closer to Christ as they prepare for future performances.

For more information about their upcoming events and performances, follow D-TREX Dance Crew’s Instagram (@dtrexdancecrew).

Schoonover is an arts & culture reporter.