Although not a competition, judges were present to score routines.  This gives teams an opportunity to perform, work out kinks in the routine and receive feedback before they actually compete.  The varsity jazz team participated in this event debuting a graceful yet strong routine to the song ‘Let It Be’.

 

Practices had already started and the team of 29 girls has been busy conditioning, weight lifting and preparing routines for the competition season.

 

Saturday, the dance team traveled to Apple Valley to compete at the Avaires Invitational.  All four teams, JV jazz, varsity jazz, JV kick and varsity kick competed at this event.

 

This season the dance team had been introduced to a new score sheet.  Categories have changed, rearranged and redefined. 

 

"Since this was our first competition of the year, this is our first time getting a good look at the score sheet for our teams.  It is hard to know how to compare scores from previous seasons. Although I think the changes will definitely be a good thing in the long run, there is a learning curve whenever anything changes and judges, coaches and athletes are all working through that early in the season.   Overall, we had a good start to the season that we need to continue to build and improve upon." said Coach Baloun

 

JV jazz started the day with their routine to ‘Feel It Still’. The JV jazz team consists of 15 athletes many of which were participating in their first ever dance team competition. 

 

 "The team gave a solid performance, hitting some of their more difficult skills. We did have some spacing and formation issues that we will need to improve on to increase scores, butl it was a good first performance." said Baloun.

Varsity jazz performed their routine to ‘Let It Be’ for the second time this season, the first time in competition.

 

"It was exciting to get out and perform using the new score sheet. We should be able to tell more clearly the areas that we are doing well in and the areas that need improvement. We'll be working hard this next week to improve in those areas and be ready for our next competition." said Co-Head Coach Nadia Fischer-Danzeisen.

 

JV kick performed well and was able to capture first place in the AA JV jazz division. 

 

“The team performed well with lots of energy and facials.  They were really able to bring the dance to life and entertain the crowd! It's always great to start the season with a win!" said  Coach  Fischer-Danzeisen

Varsity kick closed the night, debuting their routine to ‘Just A Little Kiss”, which is a medley of songs from the band KISS. 

 

"This is a fun routine to very recognizable music. I was pleased with their performance and thought it was a very strong start to the season. The song is very high energy and that is something we need to maintain until the very end of the routine. Stamina is something we will continue to work on as the season progresses. i'm excited to see this routine develop throughout the season.” said Baloun.

 

The dance team competes next at the Albany Invitational  Saturday.