Fossil’s dance team remains persistent

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, plans have changed time and time again for many people, including the Fossil Ridge High School Dance Team. However, among all the changes that have taken place, the dancers on the team have continued to work throughout our season.

The team, in an effort to stay on top of our technique and skills, have opted to take extra classes at local studios, including The Studio and Immersions Dance Center. These classes give the dancers an opportunity to get corrections from teachers, and give us a space to try new things, as well as drill older skills.

The dancers have also been kept busy with workouts sent by coaches. The team members are given a workout at the beginning of every week, and must complete these by the end of the week. Our coaches hope that, by providing the dancers with a mandatory workout every week,  we will be able to keep up our stamina while the team is not allowed many practices.

Athletic Weights, a class offered to Fossil’s students, is also a new mandate for the team’s competition dancers. Taught by Beck Easton, the class helps the dancers get stronger, which is important for us to continue improving our performance and skills. The class, while it was always going to be a requirement for the dancers during the 2020-2021 school year, has been helpful for all of the dancers to continue improving, even when practices are limited.

While the team’s work ethic has remained consistent, the plans for our competition season have been anything but. With restrictions constantly changing, the competition season has played somewhat of a balancing act.

“I hope for one competition, just something that will kind of lead to some normalcy,” says Tessa Lovell, a coach on the dance team.

While a competition season still hangs in the air, the coaches have been working to be as prepared as possible for whatever season the team is able to have. The coaches have been working together to choreograph a competition piece for the dancers. 

“Normally we would hire a choreographer, but with limited funds and just not the promise of an actual competition season we figured we’d use our resources,” Lovell explains.

Among all of the ever changing plans, the team has given our best effort to take as many opportunities as we can get, even if practices are limited. 

The team hopes that, even as other things continue to be changed and cancelled, we can continue to stay in touch.

“If practice got cancelled we would probably focus more on the team bonding aspect of it,” Lovell says. “Setting up team zoom meetings or doing little activities kind of online just to stay in touch with the team the rest of the season.”

Uncertainty still surrounds the season, but the team has upheld positive spirits and never ceased to improve both dance skills and team atmosphere.