Elven Duvall

The Jefferson dance team holds up their trophies for the camera. They placed first in kick and second in lyrical, pom, and jazz. “[Dance] is just really fun,” junior captain Grace Xiao said. “The community and also [our] coach are really chill. Captains have a lot of flexibility.”

The Jefferson dance team started their season attending the Brooke Point Invitational on Jan. 13, a regional dance competition with approximately ten other schools. They placed first in kick and second in lyrical, pom, and jazz, showing improvement since last year, where they placed second in kick and fourth in lyrical, pom, and jazz in the same competition.

“I think we did good. We were working on the dances since [homecoming] ended, and we were in sync,” freshman Caroline Fu said. “I was  nervous at first, but the muscle memory and adrenaline made up for it.”

The team regularly performs at school events throughout the year, including at sports games and homecoming pep rallies. The competition season, however, only lasts from January until March, when Nationals occurs.

“We don’t do that many [competitions], just around two usually,” junior captain Grace Xiao said. “We start learning the dances in the fall [until] around December, and we’re cleaning [the routines] from December through January.” 

This year they will only compete in one competition before Nationals because a previous competition, WinterFest, was canceled due to snow.

“It was really nice seeing the other schools perform though because their choreography was different and it was cool to watch,” Fu said, “I’m definitely learning from them in preparation for Nationals.”

Along with hours of practice spent each week perfecting routines, the team also works through long competition days. A typical dance competition begins at 2 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m. They rehearse and perform four types of dance: kick, lyrical, pom, and jazz. Each dance showcases a unique style, with different choreography, costumes, and music. 

“[For] every dance, we have a time to be on deck, [and a] time for stretching and warm-ups,” Xiao said. “From warm-ups to the dance, it’s about 45 minutes, and we do that four times because we have four dances.”

The team is a close-knit community aside from competing and performing together. They often hold team events and spirit days, and post about their performances and practices on social media.

“Sometimes we hang out [outside of school],” Xiao said. “Last year we had a gingerbread house competition and we [had] dinners together.”

Although this competition season was cut short, the team still made some memorable moments during the Brooke Point Invitational.

“We do this tradition every time we’re about to perform where we put our hands in the middle and the captains or whoever choreographed the dance will say a little speech,” Fu said. “It’s just so comforting and encouraging before we go up. Also, everyone helps each other with costumes, hair, makeup, and it’s just nice to bond with each other.

The Jefferson dance team will conclude their competition season by attending the Contest of Champions School Dance Nationals at Disney’s Contemporary Resort Convention Center in Florida from March 1 to March 3.