At Claremont High School (CHS), students may see the CHS Dance Team performing in rallies, but there is a lot of work that goes into those routines. Not only are these routines performed at CHS rallies, but the dance team also competes with them, too.
During their competition season, the CHS Dance Team has done extremely well, participating in the competitions Sharp and USA. At Sharp, they placed first for Jazz, first for Contemporary, first for Pom and second for Hip Hop, on top of being Grand Master Champions of the whole competition.
Milan Raley, a freshman on the team, shared her experience from Sharp. “[Our coaches] wanted us to focus on being sharp and remembering everything we learned,” Raley said. “Just looking at these [other] teams, it gives you inspiration, it makes you want to get better when you see teams that are better than you.”
Preparing for Sharp and USA and being on the Dance Team itself is a lot of hard work. Scarlett Schuab, a freshman at CHS and a Social Officer, talked about some of the work that goes into these routines. “We have practices three or four times a week,” Schuab said. “Some of us take classes outside [of school] for studio and to get technique.”
Hilary Temple, one of the coaches of the CHS Dance Team, shared what makes coaching so special. “I think that this particular group of students is really willing to work hard,” Temple said. “They jumped along for the ride and were willing to put in extra work that they weren’t expecting to get to the next level.”
Temple also wants to stress that even if you do not want to join this high-intensity team, you can still take and enjoy dance classes at CHS.
Up next, the team is preparing for auditions on May 7, 8 and 9, as well as a showcase on May 14 and 16.
“[The showcase is] what the dance team looks like and how that’s going to play into next year,” Schuab said.
Wolfpacket congratulates the CHS Dance Team for both of their successful competitions, and wishes them good luck for their showcase!
