Friday night lights are one of the most memorable experiences in high school. Whether you’re one of the players, performing during half-time or cheering on from the student section, there is something special about being a part of the evening festivities. So needless to say, I am very upset about having to say goodbye to football season when the time comes.
For now though, I am soaking up as much of the game day atmosphere as I possibly can. Being a part of the dance team has made these Fridays extra special because we get the chance to perform at every home game. Knowing that these our my last few chances to dance on that turf, I wanted to make them count.
If you read my last blog, you would know that the captains for dance team basically do everything preparation wise for all our routines. This includes finding (and cutting) music, choreographing, making formations and cleaning the dance to make it performance ready. Since all the captains are seniors this year, we all feel a sense of responsibility to make each of these dances our best work together and showcase all the hard work we do to our community each time we hit the field.
So far the most rewarding routine we have put out was our jazz routine. This was our first dance for football season that wasn’t from camp so we were coming in totally inspired from all that we had learned there. I will be honest here, it was the most difficult routine we have given our team. The movement was different, the timing was challenging and it was taking a while for the girls to get the hang of it, needless to say we were worried.
On the night of the Washington game, we were getting ready to head out for halftime. This was the most crowded the stands had been the whole year so far and we were winning which meant the crowd was excited. The team got into our prayer circle, a tradition we have been doing since the start of the team, and the captains each took a turn getting us into the mindset to dance. We took the field and waited for our music to start. Looking back on it, this was our strongest routine yet. All of the nerves we had must have worked to our favor because we had never looked as confident as a unit. I am hoping the rest of the season keeps going just as well as that last game went.