Jazz it up, drop it low

“Work it, make it, do it, makes us harder, better, faster, stronger!”
Whenever you hear these Kanye West lyrics, visions of the AHS dance team performing their main routine at the halftime show of a football or basketball games, may come to mind. Decked out in their flashy costumes, they are one team you cannot ignore.
Unlike many other sports, dance team lasts for two seasons, rather than one.
The team has been practicing since beginning of the summer.  
They also had to attend a three-day, dance training camp in Ocean City, Maryland. During those days, the dancers were expected to learn and memorize three different dances.
“I had an awesome experience at camp with all my friends,” said sophomore Samantha Lugar, “ we had a lot of team bonding time and we grew a lot closer.”
Girls on the team agree that they have a stronger relationship than most other teams at AHS.
Senior Beth Hertel boasts about their bond, “We are all really close and we spend a lot of time together. We basically tell each other everything and whatever is said stays there.”
 A normal dance practice usually consists of a five-minute warm-up followed by stretching for thirty minutes. One type of stretching they do is sitting in the splits for a minute on each side.
In order to be in shape they also do about 20 push-ups and sit-ups every practice. Afterwards, the team practices their routine repeatedly until the end of practice.
For a cool down, they do series of abdominal exercises lead by their coach.
Although dance may fall under the category of a competitive sport in a technical sense, critics say it is not a sport. Sophomore Christopher Yurko agrees. “Dancing does not test the limits and training your body to be athletic.”
There is a three-week process from the beginning of learning a formation until it is ready be performed at halftime. Formation is the final step where the dancers are placed to stand. Most routines are not repeated, but a few are. About every three weeks, the dance team learns a new routine.
The dance team incorporates many different dance moves in their routine. “We mostly use hip-hop, jazz and pom,” said Hertel.
Lugar’s favorite style of dance is hip-hop. Another dancer, freshman Megan Loman, prefers jazz to the other styles.
Head coach, Lorrie Robson, choreographs most of the routines. But two seniors on the dance team, Hertel and senior Becky Lallande, choreographed their most recent dance to music by artists Will.I.Am, Missy Elliot and Kanye West.
The expectations for the season have been met in many areas. “I just wanted the girls to work together as a team,” said Robson, “and I think they have for the most part.”
On Dec. 1, the dance team competed at Potomac High School.  There are a wide variety of dance categories each high school can compete in. AHS entered in the hip-hop, jazz and pom category.  They were judged on their technique, showman ship, enthusiasm, outfits and their memorization of the dances. “We placed first out of ten other high schools all over Virginia in the hip-hop category.” said Loman.
  Their next competition is at the end of January and are hoping to earn another first place finish.
With their season soon coming to a close, the beat of “Stronger” will slowly fade away and the girls will remember the days they danced whenever they hear the lyrics, “Better, faster, stronger!”