On Feb. 1, North’s varsity dance team broke the school record by placing fifth at the state competition in Bloomington, Illinois. This was the highest they had placed at state after first qualifying for the IHSA Dance State series in 2013. This was a major accomplishment for the team, and the dance coaches and captains were especially proud of their performance.
“Coming off the floor, it just felt amazing,” said Julia Lorenty, varsity dance captain and senior. “Just to know that we accomplished so much, and we got this far, and we’re able to make it that far to state.”
The team wanted to be seen as a unit on the state floor instead of separate parts, so a major focus of this season was bonding. The girls got together for team dinners, had meetings in the hotel rooms and hung out in the months prior to the competition.
“One big thing that we did this year to prepare was make sure that our team was united as one, especially those days leading up to and the practices leading up to state,” said Ella Vavrek, varsity dance captain and senior. “We made sure everyone was in a positive and right mindset in order to compete.”
Despite their incredible performance at state, the team got off to a rocky start. One challenge they faced this year was the attempt at a new type of dancing. Instead of their usual style, the girls tried out a musical theater piece, dancing to the song “Bennie and the Jets” by Elton John.
“They had to be very theatrical or very animated, which is a more challenging style,” said varsity head coach Francesca Damigella. “Leading into state, we worked a lot on character building and personality showing and things like that.”
One method the girls used to work on their facial expressions and to get excited about the competition was a dynamic circle.
“The night before we competed, we all went in each other’s room and we did a dynamic circle, which is when you’re practicing the faces and the emotion of the dance in a circle together,” said Jonna Martin, varsity dance captain and junior. “It kind of brings the team together. It’s such a good feeling to be able to share what you love with everyone.”
The team experienced other minor setbacks, but seniors Lorenty, Vavrek and Kylie Witherspoon and junior Martin used their leadership skills as dance captains to get the team back on track.
“We had a couple injuries right after winter break. Our mindsets just weren’t all aligning and we weren’t seeing the scores that we really wanted to,” said Damigella. “We came back from sectionals, we changed the dance and we had a lot of team conversations, and the captains and the seniors really helped lead the girls into changing their mindset.”
The coaches consistently provided encouragement and advice to the team, telling them to dance for each other instead of for the score.
“I’m proud of how the girls came together with one common goal in mind,” said Damigella. “We reminded the girls it didn’t matter if we won, it didn’t matter if we made it to day two. Nothing mattered more than just them having a good performance.”
