Seen At The Lake Zurich Comp…
Posted 12/12/24 12:15 pm
BUSIEST WEEKEND OF THE SEASON PUTS 3A IN THE SPOTLIGHT
+ The annual 8CA calendar rant is about to…actually I’ll save that for later. Too much to get to!
+ Saturday featured invites hosted by Batavia, Oswego, Herrin, Lake Zurich, and Gardner-South Wilmington. It was the first comp day of the winter with multiple overlapping contests AND teams from across the state in action, plus IDTA category dances. All five sites had all or most teams dancing in the IHSA rubric. And pretty much ANY of the dances would be a highlight compared to our Chicago area professional sports teams.
+ I opted for Lake Zurich on Saturday — it’s been a few years since I’ve sat in those bleachers! Actually, the last time I was at their comp, I left early to get to Batavia’s…so this was probably my first full-day LZ experience since maybe 2013-ish.
+ 8CA backstory tidbit:
+ Full disclosure, and probably surprising to the current 8CA audience: LZ is a legacy program within 8CA folklore. I absolutely treasure the memories of working on music for their poms program in the ’02-’07 era when we’d vie for IDTA titles in kick, jazz, and pom. Theirs is the dance room where, during a mid-2000s practice, I came darn close to taking a kick line to the chest as I stood flat against the mirror (I didn’t know the halftime dance they were running had a kick feature, otherwise I would’ve watched from the side).
+ It’s also the dance room where during Christmas break 2019 I saw a striking similarity between Lake Zurich Poms and Stevenson’s program: casual and fun vibes, led by experienced coaches who are more hands-off than what you’d expect. For all the talk in high school sports about team culture (intensity, grit, commitment, trust the process, etc), I think that a fun vibe is too often left out of the discussion. It works at these two programs.
+ Space notes AND history nerdage
+ The old LZ fieldhouse is unlike any other Chicago-area dance invite site. It’s a big space that somehow blends natural light and a hint of dimness. Plenty of room for the fans, and those wanting the top of the bleachers have a long climb.
+ If you’ve been following our “Team Names and Designations” segment on the 8CA podcast, you’ll know that Lake Zurich blends both the “poms” and “dance team” labels. At my last visit to their dance room, they had a bulletin board in the back labeled “LZ Poms.”
+ The gym banner also brings up that frequent “we need to do more research” topic of our podcast: the old-school term of pom poNs:
+ Being the dance tourist that I am, I stopped at the 2 distinct shrines of LZ Poms glory. I had to squeeze behind a vendor table to get to these (kinda fitting, right?):
+ In their IDTA era, LZ was a hell of a kick team in double-A and triple-A (the rough, rough equivalents of today’s IHSA 2A and 3A divisions). They also were feared in the dance category (what IDTA later renamed jazz) and pom dance (later renamed open pom), with multiple state appearances in all 3 of those categories. The success cooled off a smidge during their TDI era in the late 2000s into the early 2010s, but we all know what happened after a few years in IHSA.
+ Casual vibes for all! A one-sided schedule, volunteer music operators (though a few cell phone snags), and I even saw Coach Terri Johlie rearranging the caution tape behind the judges in between the dances.
NOTES, NUGGETS, IMPRESSIONS
+ Now that we’re past Comp Weekend 4, I’ll be shifting to just hitting a few highlights. (for specifics be sure to check out our dance-by-dance story posts, archived in Insta highlights)
+ Unconfirmed info alert (I’m too lazy to check super carefully): this may have been the all-time regular season debut for Willows Academy (I might have seen them on a sectional schedule at some point). Competing in 1A, the dancers from the Catholic school in Des Plaines probably share some studio résumés with the famous Maine programs…and it showed in their two performances. With a little more experience this is going to be a team to have to watch out for. The roster looked skilled and experienced.
+ More tests for those upper-crust 2A teams that keep running into each other every weekend. The Deerfield-Libertyville-Vernon Hills axis continued their season-long battle. But this time Lincoln-Way Central and Burlington Central were part of the party, along with the program that somehow keeps slipping under the radar: Kenwood. All could be Day 2 teams.
+ The dance team community is pretty hyper-focused on technique, so it’s refreshing when I see routines that are equal parts tech and visuals / concept. For their Routine 2, Burlington Central put together several elements for visual effect (the pants for turns, the layering, a moving circle early in the dance) — which works great against a song with a steady, hypnotic beat. There’s also a little more fun baked into this dance than past Central routines, and I hope they get rewarded in the points as the winter rolls on.
+ Ironically, the more “IHSA dancy” routine is Central’s 1st one (which kicked off the entire day of competition). It’s a good watch if you want to see how a slightly more open formation works great with bigger rosters. All the little details of advanced skills are easy to read from the top of the bleachers when the spacing’s planned right!
+ The other big-name 2A team to jump into the Libertyville-Vernon Hills-Deerfield fray was Lincoln-Way Central. I’m still pretty hooked on the power of their pom routine. But we all want to talk about Routine 2, right? You just can’t go wrong with this song. ‘90s ballads have so much musicality and “story arc” potential — I’ll elaborate more in a future musicality post.
+ Of course the team has to live up to that musical and choreo potential, and the Rhythm Knights are killing it in that regard. At about halfway through verse 1, I know they get it. Then comes their signature aerials sequence and you’re like, “it’s THEM!” And remember a few years ago when it was thought that this kind of costume “got in the way?” This dance pretty much debunks that theory.
+ Lemme music-geek one more time about this one. The LWRK dancers fully get that the strong beats hit on counts 4 and 10 when counting in twelves. I’m not sure if they’re thinking / counting in twelves or maybe sixes, but either way, they LOOK like they’re locked in to the fundamental musicality of the whole song (indicated by upper body choreo execution).
+ The first shake-up of the weekend came courtesy of Kenwood, the 2A team that seems to always slip in under everyone’s radar until ya finally wake up in January. This modern jazz thriller is compelling from 0:00 to 2:28. Lots of acro, amazing dynamics, and so outside the box that the box has already been folded up and put in the recycling bin. It’s their usual intensity, but with a major twist. KW Poms took 2nd, and everyone took notice.
+ Doing all the right things to make a uniformed pom routine POP are the dancers from Wheeling. Their eye-pleasing routine is pretty demanding in terms of the formations / staging. This program has found a cozy home with pom routines over the years, but this version of Wheeling has a little more pepper in the mix.
Hitting the pause button before I get to 3A notes
+ This was the first comp of the winter with a decent amount of music snags (you know, the whole cell phone thing). Burlington Central lost their music pretty early in their first dance and got to go again a few minutes later, which in itself is such an athletic feat. I’m always on the fence about the crowd cheering on their dancers in these situations. It helps and maybe it doesn’t. Other music whoopsies were those “that’s the wrong music” moments. When it’s obviously a different song than expected, it’s an easy reset (though not ideal, of course).
+ But when it’s the right song but wrong edit of your music, sometimes it takes a couple counts to notice, and then it’s a more awkward “OMG stop —> find the right version —> restart sequence.”
+ On the brighter side, yet *another* sharp looking trophy table:
A 3A kind of day
+ Take your pick among Glenbrook South’s 3 dances — they’ve got legit multi-category talent. On second look, my angle was too far away to read faces but I can still read the joy in their movement quality. Their Routine 2 shows off the visual effect you get with height dynamics, especially in a fast pom — it’s the big toe touches contrasted with some serious floor drops that really stood out.
+ About this time last year, Fremd had their huge breakout weekend, beginning what I called their Resurgence. Echoes of that moment reverberated around the LZ fieldhouse as the team danced their way to a 1st among some likely Day 2 candidates. My first thought after the first few 8 counts was, “Whoa…this is serious.” I’ve got a soft spot for teams who build on last year’s success. And it’s December, but they dance this fast song routine pretty cleanly!
+ I also love teams that are willing to challenge the idea that old songs are slow. Compare these tempos, measured in BPM (beats per minute):
+ That 1966 classic is at a blistering 160 beats per minute (with some slight wavering since it’s a human drummer)
+ 2014, same tempo. Dancing to either song would require some legit conditioning and sensible choreo / staging.
+ Also hitting the right notes with their song pick: Loyola (Routine 2). Without diving too deep into music-geekiness, this is right out of playbook for rock ballads in 1987. Drums? They sound like when rolled-up cheer mats tip over in an empty gym. So with this song, you’d better know what to do with the drum hits (counts 2, 4, 6, 8 if you’re true-counting, or counts 3 and 7 if you’re double-counting). Yup — this team knows what to do!
+ One of the song’s unique features is the dynamic contrast: voice and a steady piano rhythm, versus the loud chorus when those big, cheesy drums and guitars show up. Same tempo, major tone shift. I can literally mute the video and pick out when that big chorus arrives, just based on their choreo and delivery. That’s musicality.
+ Also thriving with a mid-‘80s pop-rock song is Andrew and their elegant 2nd dance. Call me Captain Obvious, but they’ve got the cleanest-looking dance in 3A (which makes sense since they set quite the tone way back on Comp Weekend 1). There’s a moment that especially stands out, and I bet all the musicality fans will pick up on it the next time they perform. When the chorus hits, they SHOW IT!
+ We’ll likely feel the wind shift in 3A each weekend with different points leaders. Something about Andrew looks super steady, no matter which way the wind blows on a given comp weekend.
+ Let’s celebrate some pretty lyrical. Light on their feet with a charming airiness, the Charrelles from Conant showed off their best selves in their 2nd dance (the penultimate routine of the day). These dancers were so nice to chat with on 8CA first Friday Night Lights of the season, and I’m glad they look so good at this stage of December.
+ They’re the little green gem of Chicagoland dance! Glenbrook North, as a community, had me hooked with their boys basketball prowess of the 2000s. I didn’t see their poms team compete much in those days, but I do remember them doing sidelines in a pretty tight space against the bleachers during those Friday / Saturday nights when their gym was packed to see Duke’s current men’s hoops coach:
+ I’m proud to say I was in the bleachers at the Proviso West tourney when he did THAT.
+ OK back to poms. You could easily argue that dances in IHSA are overly layered, so it’s a treat to see Glenbrook North’s emphasis on full ensemble work throughout their dance. That kind of visual makes their strong and constant musicality really pop off the floor. It’s also pleasantly expressive instead of a skill-fest, so this one’s a gem for anyone tired of rubric games and thirsting for dance. I’m rooting for this one all winter.
+ First impressions say so much, and Taft’s matched arm levels during the “T” pom hit in the intro are picture-perfect. Halfway through and they’re still punching those poms hard. Any of the little variations will iron themselves out with more comp floor runs. I love this program for showing off that there’s more to the CPL dance scene than just those big-name teams. And if you look on the map, Taft isn’t THAT far away from…Maine South. Not saying there’s any crossover, but a mere 10 minute drive in rush hour traffic separates those two worlds.
+ “Geez, Norm, can you get over their song choice?” Ok, I’ll look at Prospect objectively…without thinking about the awesomeness of “Don’t Speak.” I mean…to be fair, the high school guy a few rows in front of me with possible dance experience was JAMMING to this track, including a pretty good air guitar solo and even air drums:
+ Oh yeah, the dance. Second watch, I’m impressed with how long they hold the lift and it’s like at the 2 minute mark. Actually regarding the guitar solo — so many choreographers cut out instrumental solos or just use it as a bridge between combos, but this piece has the dancers expressing all the fun contours of the guitar solo. So yeah, some pro-guitar bias creeping in, but it’s all part of great musicality!
+ Of course, musicality also involves portrayal of the lyrics. I was too far away to check on faces, but this song talks about a horrible, slowly-emerging breakup where you know exactly what your bf/gf is getting at, but he/she hasn’t yet gotten to the explicit “We can’t be together anymore” part of the conversation. Ouch. Insert cry emoji here.
+ On second watch I’m picking up on something very cool from McHenry. There’s a lot of fairly tough floor work in the choreo, and with so much of that, I could see a typical team having trouble making it all look connected and flowy. McHenry does a GREAT job executing the floor stuff in an organic way. I’ve been told that exiting from a floor sequence is pretty demanding, so I gotta give props to this team’s core strength to do all of it elegantly. A solid lyrical with a nice contemporary edge (those level changes show up well).
+ Evanston gave the crowd what they wanted. Here’s where IHSA can borrow from the best legacies of IDTA, TDI, and Halftime Illinois (the latter two groups being active in the 2000s-2010s…and IDTA is still going hot). E-Town has a dance that’s meant to light up the crowd, ideally at a halftime. There needs to be space for this in IHSA dance. I don’t only mean the rubric, but the culture and collective expectations of what competitive dance team is all about. If that all sounds too abstract, then I’ll just go ahead and say that the concrete version of that would be categories and new divisions.
+ Let me take the audience’s view for a moment. The gap between audience perception and outcomes is way too big, too often. A casual fan (parents, friends, admins) would look at dances like this and see reasonable synchro, not-easy choreo, eye-catching staging, preparation, showmanship and personality….”Their skill, effort, athleticism, and joy for the sport was a satisfying watch and a commendable performance.” And: a beyond-solid dance that Generic Fan X would probably see as mid-pack. Rubrics aside, I want more Evanstons.
+ Over-the-top statement alert…here it comes. This Palatine dance has the best turns feature duo in 3A so far this winter! Look for their secondes in verse 1 on their right. Sounds cheesy, but I really get the vibe that Palatine’s singing this song with their movements. If it’s not exactly a love letter to traditional lyrical fans, it’s definitely a charming, folded-up note from that person you really like. I could definitely put this one on repeat over winter break.
Seen At The Oswego Comp…
+ One drive, two vibes
+ The schedule worked out, kinda. I figured I could get to the Oswego comp and catch the last block of dances. The first half of the drive was smooth, replete with gorgeous sunset scenes:
+ And then…not so much. The vibe slipped a little after I got off the tollway. Eola Road was busy, and then ugly-busy as I got near Waubonsie Valley and a next-door church service just letting out. And then I relearned what Oswego Road is like on the weekends (strangely much like Randall Road through Algonquin or through Geneva-Batavia). Does *every* strip mall need its own traffic light?
+ OK, so maybe I didn’t show up to Oswego with the best mindset. On the plus side, I’ve never seen that gym so packed, and it was only 3A (the other divisions were long gone). Dance team (the sport…which is why I prefer the name “poms” because it sounds less awkward in these kinds of sentences) puts me in an instant good mood. So even though I got to see well under half of the dances I planned on seeing, it was well worth it.
+ Especially poignant was Reavis’s team huddle after their dance, which capped off the whole afternoon. And they did it after a spectacular entertaining pom that lasted about 2:56! Woooo, stamina!
+ And then came the best pre-awards party so far. Not sure who the independent DJ was, but I’m pretty sure he handled the music and mic back in 2021, my last time at this comp. Definitely a different flavor versus the Double B guys and of course, Mark the DJ, who spun at Wheaton North and will hit the buttons again at Stagg for Comp Weekend 6. Many of the songs were the usual ones, but with just some little twists…cool. You can definitely see the effect on the 8CA highlight reel.
+ Notables (based on scores and placements, mostly, since I got there way late):
+ Joliet West — strong start at Andrew, and kept it up at Oswego.
St Charles East — made a statement by taking the top 2 spots.
Downers Grove South — again with the similar scores for their 2 dances, something all too familiar for the Fillies over the years. I see it as a positive: a 1-2 punch, with full commitment x2.
Oak Park-River Forest — major gains from two weeks ago at Mundelein.
Minooka — still a sneaky factor and in good shape for January with both dances
Reavis — their unique style is starting to nicely settle into the 3A world. More than held their own among some strong programs. Just wait…
Plainfield North — led the second tier of 3A teams by score. Easy to see them nudging up into the front-runner tier.
Huntley — Every year that they start mildly, we all end up fooled because their January performances get hot. This could be a similar story arc. Their jazz could also shake up a 3A field if they ever needed it to.
Oswego East — What they threw down at Mundelein was not a fluke. Real deal.
+ It was a day of huge comp debuts for some top 3A teams — Lake Park at Batavia, Fremd at Lake Zurich, and St Charles East at Oswego. On Saturday, they all earned top hardware. Each would dance again on Sunday, when the dance team gods would hit the remix button on placements!