Teaming Up

By Nancy Wozny

From football fields to dance studios, dance teams and studio owners can forge a win–win relationship  

You don’t need to go to Radio City Musical Hall to see a fabulous kick line anymore—it may be happening on a 10-yard line near you. And I am not talking about football. If you want to take in some thrilling Friday night action, forget what’s happening on the field and zero in on the nearest sideline. That’s where the dance team—also known as the danceline, pom squad, or drill team, depending on what part of the country you live in—puts on a show. Even a diehard modern dancer can find something to admire about 100 girls (the average size of a drill team in Texas) dancing in absolute unison.

Dance teams were born in Texas in 1940, with the Kilgore Rangerettes at Kilgore College. Although precision dance harks back to vaudeville and probably before, the Rangerettes were the first to put dancing on the football field. Miss Gussie Nell Davis, a drill-team pioneer, came up with a plan to keep fans in the stands during halftime by adding a little showbiz pizzazz. Flash-forward to today: The Kilgore Rangerettes are still world renowned and their technical level continues to improve. In 2005 they even performed at President Bush’s inaugural festivities.

Although you will find both dance teams and cheerleaders at a football game, they have their differences. Dance teams do more dancing and less acrobatics; their numbers are often much larger and they rarely, if ever, cheer. Established teams compete at national events presented by National Dance Association (NDA) or Universal Dance Association (UDA), and many also do a spring show to showcase the team’s choreography.

Over the years Texas dance teams have developed in technical proficiency. Feet are pointed more often, legs are straighter, and the choreography is more complicated, with leaps, turns, and so on. What’s up? Apparently studio culture has significantly contributed to the rise of technique on dance teams. Judging from the technical level at Cypress Woods High School, in a Houston suburb, studios have had an enormous impact. Since the school is brand new, the Cypress Woods Crimson Cadettes are all freshmen and sophomores. With no dance training offered in the area’s middle schools, it’s a safe bet that most of these kids have put in long hours at their local dance studio. In fact, their spring show looked just like a dance concert.

This is good news on many levels. It means that more people, including those who attend football games and students at spirit rallies, are seeing better dance. Drill-team coaches encourage (but most do not require) outside training, which ends up being good for dance studios. In response, more and more studios are offering classes especially for drill teams.

Still, studio owners may greet the growth of dance teams with trepidation, and rightly so—if dance training for team members moves inside the high school, dance studios could lose some business. Teams in highly competitive areas often practice until 5 p.m., which leaves little time for students to head to the local dance school for class and still get their homework done. In these cases, outside training is relegated to the summer months. Most often everyone benefits with added study, though, and it’s not unusual for dance-team coaches to encourage their members to continue their training whenever possible.

Hedi Perna of Perna Dance Center in Hazlet, NJ, takes the “Why not join them?” approach. Many of her advanced students participate on the local high school dance team. “I’m a huge supporter of the team,” says Perna, who regularly contributes during school fund-raisers. When the team was getting started, Perna even helped them select barres and floors. “I think high school is a great time of life and I support my students’ participation fully.” She even arranges her schedule to make it possible for her students to continue their training and be on the dance team, which means no classes on Friday nights. “I know that some students will miss classes around the time of the dance team’s spring show, and that’s OK with me,” she says. “I also schedule my recital in June to avoid conflicts.”

Perna is convinced that studios have made an enormous contribution to dance teams across the country and she has been more than happy to be a part of that improvement. “From us they learn discipline, hard work, and how to behave,” she says with pride. “They transfer the work ethic they learn from us to the team, and that helps everyone achieve success.” Perna wants her students to have a rich school life and be part of school culture. “I never want them to have to make a choice between the team or the studio,” she says. “We work in harmony.”

TJ Maple, the head coach and choreographer of the Pom Squad at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX, has a lot to say on the subject. “About 98 percent of my team members are studio trained,” says Maple, who is heading into his third year as coach. “The dance team is a perfect place for students to keep dancing. Some of them have been doing jazz, tap, and ballet since they were 3.” He says his team even boasts a few dance majors.

Some of Maple’s team members did drill team in high school, while others came straight from a dance competition background. Many see the dance team as a way to get involved in a fun activity outside of their major. His team performs during halftime at football and basketball games, spirit activities, and UDA nationals. The choreography differs depending on the venue. On the basketball court the audience is closer to the sidelines than at a football game, so he can choreograph more intricate jazz and hip-hop routines. He works with his team for 12 hours a week (not including games), during which time he gives them an overall warm-up of some ballet, jazz, and stretching, then trains them and sets new choreography. In April they head to UDA nationals, where they have 2 minutes and 15 seconds to showcase their precision skills. This year they came in third and won the innovative choreography award as well. Like Perna, Maple is convinced that studio culture has made a positive impact on college teams.

Those well-trained dancers have upped the bar for Maple, and he has risen to the challenge. Last summer he took the team to dance camp in Dallas for further training. “I love my team,” he says. “It’s great to have the privilege to work with so many talented dancers.” The rise in technical level is also making Maple’s job as choreographer more challenging and interesting. He has been experimenting with more complicated turns and leaps simply because his students can do them. He’s even thinking of adapting fouettés for the football field—once he gets the footwear problem solved, that is.

Maple sees the big picture when it comes to his team. “This is a great thing to do at college,” he says. “Learning to dance on a team offers life lessons; there are a lot of social skills built in, it’s not just moving our bodies. There’s a lot of heart and dedication to the process.” This coach loves his job and looks forward to holding special sessions each summer to keep the team in shape. He urges his team members to continue their training during the summer months, and many do. If they do not have the opportunity, at least they can keep in shape with the all-purpose warm-up Maple designed for them.

When Michele Ryan moved to Naples, FL, two years ago, she knew next to nothing about dance teams. “I was never even a cheerleader,” says Ryan, who took over a team that was not held in high regard. “I didn’t even like football.” But she quickly discovered that dance teams are big in her area. “Although the technical level varies from school to school, I was impressed with the sheer showmanship of the girls,” she says. After running a studio in Pennsylvania for years, she was ready for a new challenge, and coaching the local dance team, the Naples High School Eaglettes, proved to be it.

Ryan has found that her choreographic skills come in handy in creating effective routines for her team. “My dances need to be interesting from the last bleacher on the field, which is totally different than looking at dance on a proscenium stage,” she says. “I have to think spatially to create exciting formations that can be read from a distance.”

The Naples High team performs with the band during football season. “The dancers have to get used to dancing with a tuba playing in their ears,” Ryan jokes. “There have been a few crashes, but they all need to get used to moving on the field together.” The band, danceline, and color guard work together at a level of cooperation that encourages her students to make new friends and get along with all kinds of kids. “If they don’t work as a team,” Ryan says, “it simply won’t work.”

Ryan’s job as coach of the dance team is a paid position with the school, where she also teaches twice-weekly dance classes. The team meets for three hours on Monday nights as well, which still leaves plenty of time for the students to study dance outside of school. Ryan says that the team’s prestige is on the rise: More girls than ever showed up for the last auditions and the technical level is up.

Dance teams vary in size and support depending on the area. In Texas it’s not unusual to have two full-time dance faculty members who teach classes and coach the dance team exclusively. That’s not always the case, though, and many dance coaches work as volunteers. Where do these volunteers come from? You guessed it: studios.

When Laura Doak’s students at her Rock Springs, WY, studio wanted to be on a dance team, she went to the school system with an offer to volunteer to create and coach one. “When kids get to be a certain age they want to get involved at school,” she says. Now, as owner of Artistry in Motion and coach of the high school team, she splits her time between studio and dance team duties. “Running my own business along with coaching a high school team has always been a challenge,” says Doak, “but we manage to have morning high school practice and evenings at the studio.”

Because there isn’t much time to train at school, the students take ballet and modern at the studio. Doak has seen the popularity of the team blossom in a short time. Even though the team is relatively small with 15 members, it still manages to do an impressive kick line. Last year the team won a regional title at Wyoming State Spirit Competition, and in 2005 it took home a national title from Cheerleaders of America. Recently Doak added a military/precision class at her studio.

Now entering her sixth season, Doak is proud of the work she does. “The girls on the high school team are seen in the public eye so much, and so many of the younger children admire them and want to be just like them,” she says. “I enjoy both aspects of the dancing world—drill team versus studio—and at times they seem worlds apart. But I get the best of both, and I feel blessed by that.”

Sometimes teachers take on the job of dance-team coach at the request of their students. That’s what happened to Adonica Struhar, whose students asked her to help get a dance team started in 2006. She went straight to the top. “I called the superintendent of schools and volunteered my time to start a team,” says Struhar, who owns Spotlight School of Dance, one of only a few studios in Creston, IA. “He was thrilled with the idea and totally behind the project.”

Struhar says that the arts get lost in her mostly agricultural community in the land of soybeans and corn. She started with 20 girls, which is impressive when you consider that only 50 students graduate from the local high school each year. No auditions were necessary; the team was open to all. Struhar admits to being slightly challenged by the range in technical ability. “I knew working with dancers and non-dancers was going to be challenging, so I choreographed with multiple layers, using the turners and leapers in interesting ways.” Black pants and tops served as uniforms and they all chipped in for their own poms. Struhar’s approach is a perfect example that bigger is not necessarily better. Because they are just getting off the ground they do not compete, but they may in the future. “This is a nice, healthy activity to give to these kids,” Struhar says, “and that’s enough for me.”

Studio owners who get involved with dance teams, either by coaching or by accommodating team members’ schedules, emphasize that they do so because they want their students to have meaningful experiences in high school and stay involved in school culture. For teams with large time commitments, that may involve cutting back on studio training. On the other hand, studios can provide a valuable service in maintaining the technical proficiency of dance teams, which gives them the edge they need to succeed in competitions. Either way, dance teams are looking better and better because of the quality dance education in their communities. And they are providing a wonderful service by sharing the art of dance with their fellow students and devoted football fans.

Photo captions (from top to bottom):

The Kilgore Rangerettes, established in 1940 at Kilgore College, is the oldest dance team in the United States. Photo by Joel Dryer 

Kilgore Rangerette Megan Krause (center) and her teammates in action. Photo by Joel Dryer 

(Third and fourth photos) Nearly all the students on the Pom Pom Squad at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX, have dance studio training. Photo by Jamie Christian Photography 

The Naples High School Eaglettes perform in community dance performances as well as on the football field. Photo by John Paul Photography           

Rock Springs Tiger Rhythm Dance Team won the 2007 WHSAA State Dance Championships. Photo by Laura Doak  

Tiger Rhythm coach Laura Doak (right) and assistant coach Lorrie Revelli show off the team’s state championship trophy. Photo by Jenika Bishop

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