The Independence Dance Team wowed students and staff on Jan. 24 with their dazzling performance during the boys’ varsity basketball game. They not only performed their routine but did it with a smile. Applause erupted from the crowd as the girls walked off to celebrate their performance. 

The group only performs jazz style dances. “Usually, that is just the style that it starts with,” the team’s coach Mrs. Erin Wood, a psychology and Pre-AP World History teacher, commented, “But I’m sure as the team grows, they will start to perform other styles as well.”

Team member Madison Lee, a freshman, shared a similar sentiment about her desire for team growth. “I hope next year when we do dance team, we have more girls because dancing in a bigger group is always fun,” said Lee. “[This season has] taught me you have to work as a team because it’s not a one-man job.”

When the team is not performing in their red tank tops, one could find them practicing every Tuesday morning. Wood describes her role as coach is to “organize the behind the scenes [aspects]. I help with the dances and cleaning up the choreography, but the girls do a lot of the work.”

The co-captains, juniors’ Lindsey Barbour and Mia Creason, choreograph the dances to the music they selected upon approval from Wood. Motivation for the girls to be a part of the whole creative process stems from their want to showcase their skills and represent Independence. “I wanted to get involved in the school, and there wasn’t really another sport that I could do, so it just made sense,” Lee explained. 

As many of the girls are competitive dancers, it can be quite a transition from stage to court. Lee commented, “On stage when you look out, the audience is dark, but at the pep rally, you can see everybody, so that is definitely a little more nerve wracking.”

See them perform during boys’ basketball games and the spring pep rally.