Milana Ilickovic

Dancers Zoe Cain [left] and Sam Gourd [right].

From the sidelines to the center of the show.

The dance team has been practicing together since July, and has been dancing on the sidelines for football season and is beginning their formal competition season. The team competed at a regional competition on Nov. 13, and is preparing for the state competition and smaller tournaments. With new dancers on the team, this season is likely to showcase the new abilities they bring. It is sure to be a better season for the team entirely.

“I’ve been on the team for four years and my overall experiences have been up and down for sure, the team is really different this year for sure, so that’s a really different experience,” said senior Samantha Gourd. The team only has four dancers from the previous season, so there are many people learning to work together, from the eight graders new to the team to the seniors who have been there for years. The team dynamic had to start completely from scratch, and it’s impacted the team for the better. 

“I’d say we work together really well, there’s a lot of community that you can find in the team and we’re all just super supportive of each other and able to listen,” senior Zoe Cain said. The team practices multiple times a week for hours at a time and have been able to bond together because of it. All members are very encouraging of each other, and are always willing to help another who needs help perfecting a turn, flip or trick. 

“Our team works very well together this year, we are really encouraging of each other. If one of us messes up we are very encouraging and tell them to get back up, it’s very different from years past and it’s definitely one of the best years we’ve ever had,” Gourd said. Dance requires every single person to remember the choreography and perform it at their best, having the team work so well together is a huge accomplishment for their season. 

“Everyone has some kind of background in dance, almost half our team now dances in a studio competitively, most of them are national champions, we have one girl who won nationals soloists last year,” said Gourd. The team working together as a whole is essential but each member must be distinguished in their skill in order to perform their routine to perfection. 

“Past years we have been late on things, this year we have things done and are perfecting and trying to be the best we can because we have an opportunity to make state this year,” said Gourd. If the team gets top five at regional competition they will advance to state competition. Region and State are the two big competitions the team competes in during the season, and placing well in them can lead to a huge victory. “We know that we have done it before and we can do it again if we work hard enough,” Cain said. 

The team will compete at state competition in Lexington, on Dec. 10 in Pom.