One of my favorite aspects of my Austin Prep career has been being a member of the dance team. This season was no exception. We were excited to welcome our two new coaches this year, Tanya Croteau and Megan Melnikoff. Our team began the season with choreography from Kyle Rush, a member of the Golden State Warriors Dance Team. He was flown in from California to craft our music and routine, including complex formations, tricks, and intricacies of movement. After two six-hour-long days of choreography, we were ready to begin the season. 

We had a total of six competitions this year. Our first competition was on February 11 at Natick High School, where we placed second. The next day, we got first place at Billerica High School, then went on to win first place again at Wilmington High School and third place at Endicott College. After these four competitions, it was time to prepare for states. In preparation, we rallied school spirit by performing at halftime at a girls’ basketball game and at our winter sports pep rally. We enjoyed being able to showcase what we had worked on all season to the rest of the school.

Our team adjusted some choreography at practice and continued to fine-tune our dance before heading off to states at Framingham High School. We were all nervous going into this competition because we knew that we had to place within the top four teams in the hip-hop division in order to advance to the ‘New Englands’ competition. We were competing with eight talented teams for a top-four spot. Although we had a lot of strong competition, we were able to secure a fourth-place spot in the states, qualifying us to attend New Englands. 

The week before New Englands, we practiced harder than ever before. We all knew it was the last time we would get to complete our routine together as a team. On Saturday, March 11, it was time for New Englands. We arrived at school at 8 am, decorated the gym to celebrate our seniors, and did our hair and makeup together. We boarded the bus at 9:45 and arrived at Bellingham High School around an hour later. While we stretched, warmed up, and prepared to compete, everyone was wracked with nerves. However, the moment we stepped onto the floor, we knew we could do it. Our team left the floor feeling like we had just executed our best performance yet. We placed seventh overall among the top twelve hip-hop teams from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. We were all extremely proud of what our team accomplished and spent the bus ride back reveling in all of our achievements from the season.