By: Sarah Gouldrop 

Humor Editor 

You know them, you love them, and you show up at Helm Field every Friday night to support them. You guessed it: it’s the dance team! Making their debut at the Aug. 26 football game, the LGHS Varsity Dance team wowed the crowd with their entertaining sideline dances and catchy cheers. With the recent addition of assistant coach Annika Jackson, the team is back and better than ever. 

 The girls began practicing in mid-July, working on learning cheers, perfecting half-time routines, and preparing for their annual 3-day camp hosted by United Spirit Association. Senior and co-captain Frankie Evans raved about the seemingly grueling summer practices, expressing that “Summer practices were super fun because they were a great way to bond with the new girls and bring everyone closer. Even though it was hard, we grew unified as a team and improved a lot.” While the rehearsals proved to be challenging — especially due to the heat — the team’s dedication to detail was evident in their first home game routine. 

Choreographed by seniors Julia Metz and Sarah Gouldrup, the first routine was a catchy number to the hit throwback Can’t Hold Us by Mackelmore. Starting off strong with two backflips, the team immediately hooked the crowd in with featured tricks and impressive formations. Metz expressed that “choreographing Can’t Hold Us for the first game created a good amount of pressure for Sarah and I, but after hours of choreographing, we were just excited to see it all come together in the end. Performing and watching the dance back on Friday is the most rewarding thing of all.” 

In order to perform a new dance at each halftime, the dance team has to make the most of the limited practices they have before each Friday night. The back to back home games meant that learning the routines, placing formations, and cleaning the dance had to be done in an effective and timely manner. The team utilized their media access and began posting all of the dances on a shared Facebook group, which members would then use to learn the choreography at home in order to come prepared for practice. Avery Adams, another LGHSsenior, commented on the new method: “I had to learn Can’t Hold Us while on the other side of the country over summer. Learning it by video was not easy, but it was all worth it when we took the field.” In addition to the online videos, the team also began practicing at a time no other team dares to: 7:00 AM Wednesday mornings, the girls meet bright and early, starting practice off with a quick lap around the track before diving into blocking formations on the field and focusing in on details. 

The dance team’s next performance takes place next Friday, so make sure to come out to Helm Field to support your LGHS dancers!