Seen At The Oak Forest Comp…
Posted 12/4/24 12:10 pm
DECEMBER LAUNCHES WITH HOT DEBUTS
+ A small, but non-zero percent of probability: at least one dancer’s costume or uniform fit a little differently after Thanksgiving week.
+ Well, maybe I’m just projecting my own problems onto everyone else. I’m trying to transition to the cool jeans fit and away from my 2010’s staple of slim jeans (which worked great for a shorter and subtly flabby person). So it’s possible that the straight fit jeans might deceive me into thinking, “Ahh, this week’s holiday calorie consumption had zero consequences!”
+ Enough about my fashion – food probs. We had an outstanding little comp to wrap up the holiday weekend! If you heard my Top Of The Bleachers Insta story post, you’ll know that this comp had traditionally been a late January showdown back in the day. For several seasons now, Oak Forest has been the Thanksgiving cap-off comp (a spot once held by Rich South in the 2000s).
+ I’m 80% sure that the dad volunteer at the ticket gate was the count-off leader for the Oak Forest Parents routine. Anyhow, just past that table was the comp merch and the raffle table, and then the gym. It’s gotta be the shortest gate-to-bleachers walk on the dance comp schedule.
+ And yes, it was the season’s first pom parents exhibition routine, and a pretty successful one:
+ Oh, you wooden bleachers. Sometimes my nemesis, but always kind of like an old friend. I like this gym not only for the decades of memories but also the combo of its traditional visuals and the stylishly modern court markings.
+ One final chill aspect before the crazy busyness of December comp weekends 4, 5, and 6: today’s relaxed, one-sided schedule. Plenty of downtime between the dances meant I could get kind of verbose with the dance commentary, PLUS get to the bathroom (again, super close to the gym).
NOTES, NUGGETS, IMPRESSIONS
+ (for specifics be sure to check out our dance-by-dance story posts, archived in Insta highlights)
+ It was the season debut for Ryan’s wing of Double B. I’m a big fan of how each cell in the Double-B family has the overall brand vibe, but with their own little twists. Case in point: they broke out the full-length version of Wham’s “Careless Whisper” during lunch:
+ Trophy table looked sharp — like that one item you want but it’s excluded from Black Friday / Cyber Monday discount codes because it’s toooooo nice.
+ Major debuts for 1A teams, with the top 3 all expected to be in the convo for state slots. Thornridge hit the floor with a very likable jazz piece. St Laurence brought some fun specificity to the “weather” theme by going the “storm” route.
+ You just know that Evergreen Park is going to bring the heat and a signature style, yet it always has that fresh flavor. I knew I was going to get showmanship and athletic stunts, but the sync of those skills so late in the routine really shows off their conditioning and team mentality.
+ New vibes popped off the floor with Aurora Central Catholic’s lyrical-jazz work. It was such a great example of treating each and every count as an opportunity (both artistically and in terms of pecking at the rubric). Lots of doors opened with this performance.
+ You know how some routines look like lists of skills with no flow? Ridgewood is the total opposite. I felt like that abstract “dance element” was always present in every count of their captivating routine. You know how after a tasty meal you might say out loud, “That was good” — that’s this routine. I’m going to enjoy seeing this dance’s week-by-week development.
+ Yet again– a comp that’s a 2A partyyyyyy
+ Let’s start the 2A-talk with Hubbard out of the Chicago Public League. They came out in their sharp uniforms and put down a pretty good jazz piece. With a little more experience I think this is a program that can grow into a vibrant operation.
+ Stayin’ in the City for a moment, Marist faced a serious test after their strong debut on Comp Weekend 1—this time having to go up against LWC and Bradley-B. The Redhawk dancers held their own with solid scores to place 4th and 5th. In a big 2A field they still stood out just like 2 weekends ago, thanks to that upgraded choreo, floor command, and skills set.
+ I liked what Richards had to say at Deerfield a week before Sunday’s run at Oak Forest. Take away the penalty and they’re running middle-of-the-pack in this hot 2A field. This is another one of those dances that’s an entertaining watch, and you just gotta cheer for a team that can bring out those vibes from an audience that’s already got plenty of the other stuff.
+ So…Eisenhower!!! Remember when they ruled all? The Castillos brought their coaching magic to Evergreen Park, and a few uncertain seasons followed for the Ike dance program. This routine shows that Eisenhower is back on track and ready to take on the 2A jungle. If you ever have to deal with the holiday blahs, find a vid of this dance and feel the energy.
+ 8CA faves Hillcrest brought a 1-2 punch to the Oak Forest floor. They showed undeniable growth throughout football season and it’s paid off with the floor presence and stamina. I like this program in pom mode — put aside the penalties and it’s a mid-pack routine at OF. Don’t overlook their other dance — I was rewatching the vid and randomly paused it to answer the door (the shopping is out of control at my house). Anyhow, paused it, and I saw the whole team in a really nice passé. Sneaky, sassy, jazzy hip hop will always own an audience.
+ Oak Lawn performed their jazz piece like it was their home floor. Big, clean visuals really made all the fun formation ideas pop. This one’s going to be a sly 2A noisemaker come January. On-and-off success for this program over the years is now trending heavily toward the “on” position — I can hear that lightswitch clicking right now.
+ Who had the best debut over the first 3 comp weekends? I’m going with the always-likable, always-hard-to-spell-quickly Bradley-Bourbonnais. This is exactly what a program with their profile wants: the hot, clean start, and decisively outscoring a potential Day 2 team to grab the top spot at Oak Forest. Didn’t see it coming. Like I mentioned last week, program-building can be a years-long project. All the barricades and orange road cones have been picked up, the signage installed, the decorative vegetation planted — this 2A highway is wide open for Bradley-B.
+ Coming into Comp Weekend 3, and even coming out of it, the Rhythm Knights are probably one of the scariest 2A teams out there. You always know the aerials are coming with Lincoln-Way Central, and even with that foreknowledge, I’m stunned every time. There’s too much advanced stuff and floor command in their second dance to keep it down for long; I feel the Geneva-esque vibes in this dance. Potentially scrambling other teams’ 2A trophy hopes at future comp weekends is their excellent pom routine. When a jazz team tackles pom, you’re usually in for a treat, as confirmed with their Routine 1.
+ 3A Shuffle Mode
+ Gotta start with Sandburg. Comp Weekend 1 went alright for this beautiful dance. Two weeks later, that same dance is cookin’ like bacon and has the points to show for it. The deep lyrical genre isn’t as ubiquitous as it once was, but teams like Sandburg continue to assemble rosters with the talent to pull off this captivating style. The bounceback from a year ago is in full swing.
+ Just .40 separated 3rd and 4th — and two teams that are poised to rattle 3A fields all winter. Niles North didn’t snag hardware for the bus ride home, but they danced like a team that can earn a state spot…with a pom routine! The sharp attack to all their initiations of movement said a lot.
+ Earning a 3rd and also debuting their comp routine are the fast-rising dancers of Plainfield Central. The Pomcats had no trouble lighting up the floor even with a physically demanding routine. This could be the strongest I’ve seen this program in years.
+ Putting aside points and rubrics, I have to commend Bolingbrook for making those adjustments over the holiday week to show off some substantial improvements since Mundelein. We celebrate growth at 8CA — so this performance definitely merits high fives and confetti.
+ Lincoln-Way East — maybe a smidge on the shy side when I visited their home game in late September, but still plenty of personalities to end up with some good content that night on 8CA’s Insta! That little spark seems to have blossomed into a strong start to comp season. Beginnings and endings have an outsized effect on anyone’s impression of a routine…and LWE delivered with great turns during the intro and a difficult ending (music and timing-wise). I can see this dance making a deep run at the end of January.
+ Of all the trophy winners in 3A so far this season, put the LWE Poms and Glenbard West DT as the teams that could sneak up on the rest of their division.
+ Fully-charged Morton has plenty of juice to grab your attention this winter. Mid-pack in the points at Oak Forest but just going on the “eye test,” this team is upgraded and ready to make legit noise in 3A. They had all the elements I’ve come to expect in a Morton pom piece, but just turned way up. Combined with great fan support, something good is happening at JS Morton…stay tuned…
+ Metea Valley’s super-appealing jazz is so strong in what I call the “plot line” department. So you get a sensibly-sequenced routine where all the skills look organic (thanks to the smart musicality) and several mini climaxes, plus an ending that has a nice “wrap up” vibe. This talented team will continue to climb the ladder with their magnetic stage command and good visuals. Plus their coaches have sweatshirts that coordinate with the costumes! Win-win.
+ Often a fun wild card in 3A is the long-standing program at Homewood-Flossmoor. Over the years I’ve seen good-to-great pom, different flavors of jazz, and hip hop from HF. This time it’s a stage-worthy jazz that’s right at home with their bold personalities. Sometimes with this kind of jazz you can drift towards individual dancers doing their own thing, but this one’s a unified presentation with clean formations and floor spacing. Plus…a move that had the bleachers hyped.
+ Side note time. If you’re a newer fan of high school dance team and 8CA commentary, I guess the quickest way to explain the difference between scores and my impressions is this:
…the judges are watching, assessing, scoring, and offering feedback / corrections.
…I’m watching, fan-boy-ing, observing, reporting, and supporting.
Often times there’s crossover, and sometimes there’s not.
+ HOLIDAYS LAUNCHED
+ Oh, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only fan to realize this on the drive to Oak Forest—it’s December!
+ To nail down that reality, the Double B DJs played THAT Mariah song during awards, and the results speak for themselves:
+ On to Comp Weekend 4 (December 7 + 8), technically the busiest comp weekend of the season!