Their routines only last a few minutes, but the varsity dance team has spent months perfecting them, with the hopes of making it to state.
During the summer, the dancers meet for three to four days a week at camp, where they learned halftime routines. During the fall, that went down to two as they prepare for competition season, Zoey Stancampiano, junior, said.
“For a competitive routine, a choreographer will come for two to three days to teach it, and then we will work with it for a whole season, so it changes a lot,” Stancampiano said.
Kate Buligan, senior, described that one of the main challenges that leads to changes in choreography is injuries and the need to adjust.
Nevertheless, when struggles like this arise, it can be hard to discuss them as a team.
“Our communication plays a big role; we never let problems persist for a long time and handle them as they come,” Buligan said.
In addition, the team hopes to qualify for state, so high expectations are set, the pressure is felt as a team and individually, knowing that their performance could impact the team’s score.
“Work hard, compete our best, it doesn’t really matter what we place, but we have high expectations for ourselves,” Buligan said.
Furthermore, this team seems to have an “all or nothing” mindset, which correlates with their excellent performance.
“We have a very hungry mindset, we are always pushing for the next level, there’s no stopping point because there’s always the next thing to reach for, and we all want it the same,” Brooke Wikoff, senior, said.
However, for a lot of the dancers, this is their senior year, which motivates them more than in previous years.
“Senior year has made me want it more than anything, just because junior year we didn’t make it to state,” Wikoff said.
To wrap up the 2025-26 season, the varsity dance team ends on a high note.
“We end our season in Florida, and we’re going to nationals this year for the first time, and it’s a new one,” Wikoff said. ”We spend time as a team and have fun dinners.”
The team finished second at Andrew on Nov. 15 and 26th at Naperville North on Dec. 7. Their next competition is a Lincoln-Way Central on Dec. 20.
