At FHC, varsity dance has an opportunity like no other sport: compete at nationals. On Thursday, February 8, the varsity dance team traveled to Orlando, FL to represent FHC at DTU (Dance Team Union) Nationals. Competition began on Saturday, with finals being on Sunday. After the weekend, the girls’ pom routine proved to be excellent, as it qualified for finals and placed 15th overall.
Before competing, the girls have to qualify for nationals; they qualified by doing well at DTU Regionals. Preparation for nationals included memorizing a jazz, hip-hop, and pom routine. All three are vastly different and have unique choreography. At nationals, all three dances are performed and each routine has a different group of dancers from the team. For FHC, nationals is very important; they practiced the majority of the day Friday.
“The team’s been practicing non-stop and [been] super dedicated,” junior Paige Jacobs said. “It’s the energy, the teamwork, and the thrill of performing that makes nationals such a big deal.”
For the team’s first performance, eleven dancers including seniors Sophie Erbentraut, Ava Ackerman, and Sofia Hargis-Acevedo performed jazz on Saturday morning. The girls stepped out in a vibrant green dress encrusted with gemstones along the front. Their dance was to an emotional piano piece, and included a turn sequence that had eight turns into a pirouette, a solo aerial from sophomore Maja Vidinlic, and many leaps and twirls that complemented the music. Unfortunately, among a pool of many other impressive jazz routines, FHC’s did not make the finals.
A couple hours later, the team performed pom—their sole dance that made the finals. This routine had ten dancers, with seniors Sofia Hargis-Acevedo, Sophie Erbentraut, and Ava Ackerman. Their pom routine showcased a cluster of turns and was heavy with school spirit; the music included chants of “FHC” and at a point in time, the girls aligned to make a big “F” with their poms. It finished with the girls throwing their poms on the ground.
Next was their hip-hop routine. The majority of the dance team participates, making for this routine having lots of dancers. Hip-hop tends to be very upbeat, but it is also the hardest rotation to do well in. The girls wore black leggings, a white top, and a neon green vest. Maja had solo moments, such as when she “walked” over a group of dancers and did an aerial. The vivacious dance ended with sophomore Ellerie Knowles standing while the rest of the team dropped to the floor.
These dances were performed in hopes of making finals; at the end of the day, the only routine that did was pom. In finals the next morning, the team performed pom and they ended up placing 15th in the nation.
Placing at nationals was a huge accomplishment for the girls; last year the team did not go to nationals. Their result to wrap up the season was the culmination of many months spent practicing and team bonding.
“Seeing everyone’s hard work pay off is a great feeling for everyone,” Jacobs said. “Nailing the routines and the rush of adrenaline when you’re on the floor makes nationals so great. It’s like a second family, all pushing each other to be the best.”
Head coach Crystal Delgodo has been coaching dance for 21 years, and this season marks it her seventh year coaching FHC. Outside of coaching FHC’s team, she teaches at and co-owns Imprint Dance Company.
“It has been a joy to coach this team,” Delgodo said. “I loved watching them grow [through] summer practices, through camp, [and the] regional competition to nationals. There are so many special moments I have with this team. We have laughed together, cried together and enjoyed the time we spend together each week. My favorite moment is when they found out they made it to finals; [there was] screaming, crying, and chanting. It was the best.”
Delgodo also emphasizes the admirable bonds between the team this season.
“This team’s strength this season was being a team,” Delgodo said. “We had alternates that may not have danced in every routine but their opinion was important and was a huge help was we cleaned our routine for nationals. We needed every single person on the team to make this season happen. Not one person was there to carry it.”
As their season came to a close, the team lost four seniors: Ella Piontkowsky, Ava Ackerman, Sofia Hargis-Acevedo and Sophia Erbentraut. All had prominent roles in all three of the dance routines, excluding Piontkowsky who was injured during nationals. They will be missed, especially as all have been on the team since their freshman year.
“Competing in nationals my senior year means so, so much to me,” Hargis-Acevedo said. “I have been doing competitive dance since kindergarten, and I am so happy that my final time competing was on the nationals floor in Florida with some of my favorite people.”
Hargis-Acevedo’s love for dancing can be echoed by all the seniors leaving the team:
“I hope that the four of us leave behind the passion that we all had for dancing,” Hargis-Acevedo said. “We really put all that we had into the routines that we did for nationals, and I hope that that passion we have carries on to the years ahead [for the team] and that we keep having these amazing routines and amazing people.”
