Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2016, Page 80

Description:	The Bloomington South Dance Teamshowed how they could compete attheir highest level but also have thetime of their lives.The Bloomington South Dance Team certainlyhad an impressive season. They placed firstin Pom and sixth in Jazz at Semi-state. Butwhat is their secret to success? Tradition.The dance teams traditions and outsidebonding was the foundation to theirunbelievable dancing. Senior Catherine Mayhelped to keep those pillars alive. Beforeevery performance we have a quick teammeeting where we pump everyone up for thedance, May said. Its not just the routineperformances the team needed to preparefor. Junior Arianna Mora, along with May,helped focus the girls for the statecompetition with their time-honored practices.Every year before state we stay after schooland blow bubbles, Mora said. It helpsrelieves the tension of the competition andmakes everything so much more fun.To the dancers, the teams overall trusthelped them perform better and feel relaxedon the stage, on the floor or during practice.We have a lot of team bonding activities inthe beginning of the year to help thefreshmen feel comfortable, Mora said.The general support from the wholeteam created confidence while performingand, according to Mora, kept the morale high.[The support] makes the two minutes of painworth it, May said. This system wasnt theonly reason the dance team is successful,though. Hard work and raw talent greatlyhelped the dancers to be one of the bestteams in the state.No matter how well the South danceteam did during their season, the mostworthwhile gain was the incredible friendsand memories that were made. [The danceteam] helped me make a bunch of friendsand come out of my shell, May said. As Maywrapped up her final season, her legacy offriendship and connection remained.-SIERRA TRIMBLECOr i: iiiiiMiiii tMTWfrmB^mm \The dance team performs their poms routine during half time of a homefootball game. The team won Regionals in poms beating out five otherteams. II. The dancers perform one of their many dance routines for theSouth audience. III. The team finishes out their routine in a crouchedposition. IV. The dancers entertain the crowd with their hip hop movesand upbeat music. PHOTOS BY BRITTANY UNDERWOODadaptThe Bloomington South dance team has no one season. Theypractice, perform and compete year-round. Sophomore HalleRhodes explained that communication was an integral part ofthe dance teams success during performances andcompetitions. During the dance, we were constantly talking toeach other, Rhodes said. Both spoken and unspokencommunication aided the dancers in staying consistent andunified. With any new group of athletes, however, the dancershad to learn about one another and create a new style.Eventually, everything clicked. Numbers were mastered androutines were perfected. The cohesion this year added to thestrength of the team. The more we support each other, thebetter we are, Rhodes said.AdaPj.n,mos
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/9716
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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