If you have ever been to a game or event at school, you’ve definitely seen our dance team performing during assemblies, games, or other events. However, something that you don’t see is their preparation and practice for those events. They spend hours perfecting a move or fixing a placement that’s just seconds off for a smooth performance. Our Barlow dance team dedicates time to make sure they are flawless by the time they perform. Outside of school games and events, the dance team also participates in a variety of competitions where they compete against multiple dance teams and aim to place high.
The dance team shows a lot of teamwork. They help each other be the best they can be on the dance moves, or make sure they stay on beat with the rest of the team. Jordyn Slatosch, a sophomore on the Barlow dance team, said, “Before a performance, I am the one that pats my teammates before we go on as a little good luck, and I’m the one to do it because of something the dance team calls a dance item.” Slatosch also mentions that a dance item is something they have that represents something, and she has one that represents good luck, which correlates to patting her teammates. Our dance team this year, in State, competed in Jazz and Traditional. They danced to “Madness” by Ruelle for Jazz against 12 teams and “Home Now” by Krave for Traditional against 10 teams. They were scored on technique, projection, precision, choreography, complexity, and creativity.
April Anderson, the coach for Barlow dance, said, “Honestly, everyone stepped up this season. Everyone really pushed themselves, as well as encouraged each other to be the best dancer they could be. We had a very well-bonded team that worked well together. They all understood that when one member of the team gets better, that helps everyone.”
When it comes to preparing for competitions, Slatosch mentioned, “I mentally prepare myself by going to bed early, laying my clothes for the next day out so I won’t worry about it, and then when I get to the school for carpool, I listen to either my own music or the comp music to get me in a good headspace.” She also stated that outside of practice, she likes to dance to music because it helps her get in the mindset that she’s here to dance. When she dances over and over again, it helps her slip into that mindset. Dance is a big mindset sport, and practicing the same routine multiple times helps you get into the right mindset of being confident enough to perfect the moves by the time State competition comes around.
Our Barlow dance team placed sixth overall. When it comes to practicing, they do pretty much the same thing to prepare for State. Mrs. Anderson said, “It is just that the pressure is amplified and we start to scrutinize the routine more to make sure every move is perfect.” Mrs. Anderson also mentioned that they prepare all season long for competitions. Their preparation includes conditioning and technique. They compete with the routine several times before State to get feedback from judges for improvement. Something that helps dancers with their dance moves is their past experience with dance. Slatosch said that when she first moved to Gresham, she started going to a dance studio called Deborah Messinger School of Dance, and she was there for about two years until COVID-19 hit. These past dance experiences encouraged her to join the dance team, which helped her meet new people and friends who are now some of the closest people to her.
The dance team’s hard work paid off to place sixth overall at State. Dancers did an amazing job through a lot of teamwork and confidence. Slatosch mentioned, “State competition was something to remember. State is such a surreal moment that the whole team had worked towards, and it’s so fun talking to other teams!”
If you want to join and be a part of the dance team, dance team tryouts are April 20-22 from 6-8 p.m.
