Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2014, Page 104

Description:	The whole fieldhouse was silent. The bestdancers from across the state werecrowded onto every inch of the floor,dressed in bedazzled leotards, baggyjeans, or breezy dresses. Theannouncers long trail of words blendedinto a mess of school names andcategories - until the fated combinationechoed out into the crowd: Next up,advanced jazz competition.Tensions rose as the announcercalled out the fourth place winner. Itwasnt Bloomington High School South.Close to the stage, the representativesfrom South clustered in a tight circle.Third place was called: not South. Whileother teams laughed or yelled over thedin, the South dancers sat quietly —almost meditatively — with heads bowed,eyes shut, and hands tightly grasped inanticipation. Second place, now:Brebeuf. Would they place at all?First place. Could it be ...?Silence.Then the announcer boomed,Bloomington High School South!The dancers tense meditationerupted into disbelieving elation — somescreaming, some smiling, somesuppressing tears. South dance had justwon State in Jazz, repeating a win from2012. For the team, this feat wasincredibly satisfying. All I wanted was tobecome state champions, juniorMadeline Lortz said. On March 15,that wish came true.This was a big year for the team.On top of winning State in Jazz, theyalso placed third in Pom, added a juniorvarsity team and gained a new coach.However, their win did not comeeasily. Preparing for the State tournamentand other regional competitions requireda lot of work, including two-hourpractices twice a week.The girls constantly encouragedtheir teammates to think big — beyond themany moves they perfected in practice.My goal for the team was to work hardduring practice to improve our techniqueand do our best during competitionseason, senior Margaret Kesmodelsaid.The leadership of eight talentedseniors also helped make the year asuccess. You have to set a goodexample for the younger girls, Kesmodelelaborated. You do that by showing upon time and by working your absolutehardest.Without a doubt, the teams strongleadership and deep-set bond worked intheir favor. Collaboration betweendancers made practices andcompetitions more productive — andmore fun. We worked really welltogether, Kesmodel explained.Senior Brynn Parkinson could notagree more. We almost all have thesame personality, which made dancingtogether so much easier, she said.Not only did their personalitiesmeld, but they shone. Performing theirintrospective jazz piece, Turn to Stone,the emotion on the dancers faces was asreal as their wide — and teary — smilessucceeding the State win.While their dancers may haveevoked stony statues in Jazz, its clearthat their hearts were not hewn from thesame material. Stone? No. These girlshad hearts — and medals — of gold.- MEGAN SHISHMAN AND EMILY MOONTATEThe dance team went allthe way this year, winningDRESSEDor successThe Bloomington southdance team hadnumerous outfits thatthey wore duringperformances. Here arethree of the best.
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/9210
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

Further information on this record can be found at its source.