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Six Shooting Stars

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A heavy bass-driven beat bumps through the gym speakers; orange and black pom-poms zing and sparkle in the air like shooting stars. Enter the Maywood Dance Team with their well- choreographed halftime show performed by a group of girls determined to shine bright under the fluorescent lights. The Maywood Dance team is: seniors Brooke Moore, Darbe Dodson and Breanna Kahler; juniors Marisa Foster, and Lydia Fritsche (not pictured) and freshman Amanda Smith. All of these talented girls are coached by Lisa Moore and Christiana Dodson.

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After working hard all season, the girls presented their skills to the big daddy of them all: state dance competition. Out of 10 teams the Tigers placed 5th, an affirmation to their hard work. It was also a great way to end the season for seniors Brooke and Darbe, who have participated in dance team for all four years. When asked “Why did you join the dance team in the first place?” Both said that they got interested about dance team from their older sisters, who were members in previous years. The second question was “What are the benefits from joining the dance team?” Brooke stated “I enjoy dancing and it is something that I can do with friends.” Brooke added that she  “likes to help the younger members and watch them progress throughout the year.”

Leadership is a major part in any activity that requires teamwork, and these fine girls model leadership and encourage their teammates to be leaders, too.

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What is great about showing leadership is that you teach or show the younger classmen that it can really benefit and help; it shows that you’ve been in their shoes. Last we asked them how they felt having new coaches and the challenges it brought. Senior Darbe stated “It was a difficult at first because many of the different dances were all created by [the previous coach].” “Once she left we had to create some from scratch, but we also continued to use parts that we remembered.” As you can see these girls were determined to work through the rough patches; using their determination to create new ideas and to fuse them with former dances to create a spectacular performance.

Call it a dance team, a drill team, a pom squad, or dance squad; it's all about the field event that keeps you in your seat during the half-time show. As a sport, team dance incorporates many of the same elements as cheerleading-tumbling, spinning, leaping, and sometimes pom-poms and even cheers. And like cheer, dance teams most often perform at sporting events, such as football and basketball, and often compete for awards. There are all levels of team dance; youth, college, all-star, and professional. Different than cheer, team dance routines use specific synchronized dance styles, such as jazz, hip-hop, leaps, turns, and kicks, all of which involve precision.