By Aleah Ralph
If you’re sitting in the stands of the College of Charleston’s TD Arena and see Josh Bristow walk onto the court, you might wonder if he plays for the men’s basketball team.
But once the 6-foot 4-inch tall Bristow begins to dance, it soon becomes clear that he’s perfectly suited for his spot as a member of CofC’s dance team, the Cougarettes.
“At games, people are like, ‘Whoa, is he on the basketball team?’” Bristow says. “Because of my stature — I’m so big and so tall — they don’t expect me to dance, so they’re like, ‘Why is he out there prancing with the girls?’”
Josh Bristow and other dance team members enjoy the Jan. 23, 2016, home game against Delaware.
When you watch Bristow dance, and see him move with the grace and coordination of a ballerina, you forget that he is this larger-than-life guy. His energy pulls you in and makes you want to dance along. The looks of surprise on fans’ faces quickly transform into joy and appreciation as they follow his every step.
You wouldn’t be wrong to think Bristow might make a good basketball or football player. In fact, he played tight end on the football team at Dutch Fork High School in his hometown of Irmo, S.C.
But after winning the role of the Cowardly Lion in his high school’s production of The Wiz and working closely with the show’s dance instructor, Bristow realized he had a passion and talent for dancing. He continued dancing after the musical wrapped, joined a dance studio, and ultimately made the life-altering decision to pursue dance instead of football.
Josh Bristow and the dance team lead fans in a cheer during a basketball game at TD Arena.
“If it wasn’t for the whim of auditioning for that one musical, I don’t know where I would be,” he says.
And so what if Bristow doesn’t fit some people’s stereotype of what a dancer should look like? How many dancers can say that their jazz and ballet shoes have to be custom-made for their size 16 feet?
After graduating from high school in 2015, Bristow was accepted into the College of Charleston’s SPECTRA program, which provides minority students with a transition experience into their freshman year. Bristow credits one of his fellow SPECTRA classmates, who was preparing to audition for the Cougarettes, for persuading him to try out for the team. He was the only male who auditioned and is currently the only male dancer on the team.
Josh Bristow’s talent is obvious once he hits the court with the dance team.
Bristow’s passion for the arts and dance has also influenced his academic path. A freshman, he is pursuing an arts management major and a theatre minor.
When Bristow talks about dancing, his face lights up.
“I love going to the games. The atmosphere is electric,” he says. “I dance because I like to, but I do it because of the way people feel when I do it and I want people to enjoy their time here.”
Bristow’s performances tend to be unforgettable, not only among the CofC community, but also locals. A few months ago, he was walking down King Street when a couple walking in the opposite direction did a double take and stopped to ask if he was on CofC’s dance team. When he replied that indeed, he was, they gushed about how cool of an experience it was to watch him dance.
“I kind of feel like a celebrity in certain ways,” he says.
Only a couple of chances remain to see Josh Bristow in action this basketball season. Visit CofC Sports for a schedule of remaining basketball games.
This article was written by Aleah Ralph, a junior from Fort Mill, S.C., majoring in communication at the College of Charleston. She is a writing intern for The College Today.
