As students made their way into the gym last month for the homecoming pep rally, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the dance team would rock. When the dance team came out to perform, there was a huge roar from the crowd followed by a choreographed performance.   The pep rally’s performance was just one show that would prepare them to win  first place in the school’s first time at NCASA Eastern Regional.

“[The pep rally] was by far my favorite experience this year,” said junior Dancer Taylor Laible. “We worked very hard and practiced every day leading up to the pep rally.”

The pep rally wasn’t the only big performance this year, the dance team performed at every single home football game. With the Heritage game being the last home regular season game.

“Overall I would give this season a nine on a scale of one to ten,” said sophomore dancer Gabrielle Lazaras. “The reason we had so much success this year was because we came together as one and worked hard.”

Football is one of Wakefield’s biggest athletic programs and draws a huge crowd at every game, and it’s the team’s favorite event to dance at.

“Football games are so much fun to cheer and dance at” said junior dancer Lilah Ivy. “The only bad part is we don’t get to dance in front of the student section. We have to dance in beat with the band, so it’s kind of hard for the students to hear it. Even though we would like to be seen more, the games are a lot of fun.”

The dance team makes occasional appearances at basketball games during winter, but this year was the team’s first time competing at dance competitions.

“This is our first time ever doing competitions,” said Lazaris. “We are very excited and are practicing very hard for it.”

The team prepares for competitions and games throughout the week during class.

“Our team works really hard to prepare,” said Ivy. “Our teacher is hard on us sometimes but we push ourselves to do better during practice and class.”

With this being their first year competing, each week is a different challenge and practice gets even more intense as the competition comes closer. After only being able to perform at games and pep rallies, the girls are ready to show what they got in competitions and take home first place.

“We have high expectations for competitions this year,” said senior dancer Maddie Hauer. “Our goal is to perform really well and make the hard work and practice count when it matters. Hopefully it will be a good experience for us and we learn a lot from it.”

One of the popular topics about the dance team is the dance team versus cheerleading rivalry at pep rallies and games.

“There are a couple things this year that have happened,” said Taylor Liable. “We were told we couldn’t go through the line at the end of the game because it’s the cheer team’s job. They also tried to make dances to our pep tunes. But I don’t see it as a rivalry, we both support each other and do it for the same school.”

As there are so many teams and activities at Wakefield, it’s often easy to forget and not know much about some of the teams.

“We do much more than games,” said Ivy. “All of us are really close and work very hard together, we rehearse a lot together which requires us to work together and be on the same page. We have to be aware with what’s going on during the game and to cheer at the right time. Many people are depending on you to perform well.”

In order to have a good dance team, you need individuals who have the proper skills that can put it all together when the time comes.

“A good dancer is someone who is cheerful,” said Ivy. “Someone who knows what’s going on in the game, encourages everyone and has good spirit,  and has a good overall attitude for the team.”