Seen At The Naperville North Comp…
Posted 12/13/24 2:45 pm
THE COMP THAT SEEMS TO TRIGGER SECTIONAL ASSIGNMENTS
+ It happens about this time every year on the dance calendar: the first big, multi-site comp weekend, the first battle among 3A Day 2’s usual players, followed by sectional assignments midweek.
+ It was a quick turnaround for several teams, judges, and this guy. Day 2 of Comp Weekend 4 had teams competing at Crystal Lake Central, Evergreen Park, and Naperville North. I opted for a NN – CLC combo since I’ve been to EP in recent years (be sure to scroll back through the podcast archives for some good interviews!), and in a mirror of Saturday’s travels, I figured I could finish up at Naperville North and then catch some of Crystal Lake Central.
+ I mean, the plan looked decent on paper. With cheer in the morning, CLC started at 3 with the last dance hitting the floor close to 7pm. Traffic always works out well, right?
The big gym that’s also somehow cozy
+ I enjoy North’s spacious gym: climbable, comfy bleachers, side bleachers if ya want that view (and for teams), and a cordoned-off basketball court to keep the surface clean for the dancers. But with lower bleachers than, say, Lake Zurich, there’s still enough of an intimate feel. Once again I (randomly!) enjoyed having the Geneva crowd as bleacher neighbors. Shout out to the GVDT mom who was so gracious with the compliments!
+ And it was back to the Double-B Entertainment crew for DJing. This time it was Ryan’s “pod,” joined by Nick and Carlo. It’s gotta be fun to mix with this primo gear:
+ One of more underrated IHSA state title runs belongs to the host team:
+ A busy hallway made it hard to track down their hardware among the bevy of state-level athletics awards in their trophy cases.
+ The Naperville North dance program was active and successful throughout the ‘90s in IDTA’s kick category, getting to state multiple times. The ‘00s started a less active period (one of my early music clients was a North team doing jazz in IDTA’s AAA Dance category). In the IHSA era, the program re-blossomed and reached the top in 2018-19.
+ This comp’s trophies always hang out in a corner table at this comp:
+ 1A and 2A wrapped up (along with their awards) midday, but the 3A dances went throughout the day. And with so many teams wanting to claim glory on the North floor, we had a fast-paced double-sided schedule…which unfortunately led me to focus just on the varsity dances. But scroll down for an overall JV impression.
NOTES, NUGGETS, IMPRESSIONS
+ Hitting the comp floor for the first time this winter, Providence Catholic looks so good in pom mode (front row aerials group, anyone?). I couldn’t get enough of an a la seconde sequence with pirouettes to exit — and with a twist (a subtle slow down on the final rotations, all in sync, and working so well with a moment in the music).
+ Speaking of their musicality talents, Dance 2 from Providence was to a classic jazz song but with its acapella (vocals-only) version to start off. This is incredibly hard to execute in sync, but that’s exactly what they did. They delivered a floats sequence that would rival many 3A teams. Overall — a strong Geneva vibe to their stage presence.
+ I last saw IMSA on Comp Weekend 1 as they established a new level for themselves. Still looking solid, and hung in there with a tough 1A group.
+ Persevering each weekend are the talented Nazareth dancers. A bold costume refresh and sharpened execution brought this already lovely dance up a notch. On second watch I really love their chin-up body language that they stick with for the whole routine. Definitely one of the more underrated dances out there.
+ Even casual 8CA followers know that I’m easily hooked by dances that use songs that you’d count in sets of three, six, or twelve, but a special sub-category of that are 1950s pop ballads. They just have their own thing going…often, less drums that you can hang on to for sync and musicality. The St Francis dancers use their expressive talents to bring out the flow of the song and choreo, along with the stunning visual of their costumes. The musicality is definitely there, though. One moment is a subtle but *fantastic* little torso turn to express a strong count (I won’t say its number since you can count this song in so many ways, but it comes after a turn sequence). Also difficult but with a big payoff is what we called a “false ending” in radio, where you think the song’s over but it’s not. Instead, it’s an ultra-dramatic “:” that makes you pay full attention to the moment.
+ IC Catholic’s fans know how to make light up signs — big ones.
+ With that kind of fan support, the LKDT dancers shined in their lyrical piece. The dynamics are so easy to read: sharp and cutting, alongside smooth and flowing. Dancers who can master both kinds of movement quality in back-to-back 8 counts have a special technical talent…dancers who can do this in a way that the music asks for have a great relationship with their song and choreographer, as well! This is one of those lyricals where you can randomly hit pause and you’d probably get a good screenshot moment. That means that the dancers (besides good sync) are holding their hits for the full value of that one count, not cutting anything short.
+ A definite tool to try: the aforementioned random pause analysis.
+ St Viator, besides being 8CA best buds, are putting in WORK this winter with 2 strong comp dances. There’s something fun about watching a 1A team with a sizable roster nail a changing spots sequence — creating the visuals of a 3A team. And that’s just Routine 1. Their 2nd dance is irresistibly bright and inviting. They rep their “eternal turner” skills early in the dance, followed by relentlessly good musicality. Tons of potential with both dances this winter.
+ Aurora Central Catholic made lots of noise at Oak Forest, and their voices got even louder on this floor. This is another of those lyricals where they start with the acapella version before the instruments come in. Many teams would crumble with those timing challenges, but ACC’s dancers stay true to the singer’s agenda. Of all the barre-trained teams whom I’ve given the “light on their feet” comment to this winter, these dancers are the lightest — you could fill your party balloons with their technique.
2A nuggets
+ No use waiting or scrolling, let’s just go right to Geneva. We got to see them in an older, tighter gym at Mundy. Watching their breathtaking talents on the more expansive visuals of Naperville North’s floor adds a new dimension to my understanding of their routines…they’re even better than I thought. Sleek and jazzy Routine 2 has some pretty unreal flexibility, and just when you’ve recovered from witnessing that, you get their advanced and unique turns that no one else does. Airtime on the leaps? It’s pretty serious. Someone get them a basketball to dunk. And what they do is beyond musicality — they’re *playing* with the music, both in skills-y moments and ensemble expression moments. Who knew excellence could be so fun?
+ Don’t sleep on their first dance, either. Scores might say one thing, but I’ll tell you that either one could dominate a 2A field. It’s a traditional athletic contemporary/lyrical, with plenty of advanced “stuff” and superior song portrayal. And…one formation with some unreal athleticism, and it came pretty much at the end of the dance.
+ They dazzled so hard that they got an over-the-top 8CA hot take after routine 1:
+ Benet’s 2nd outing of the winter — the first in a month — showed a lot more lively execution and eye-pleasing visuals, especially when in ensemble / unison. Comparing Sunday’s run with last month’s run, the growth speaks loudly. The performance really bloomed about halfway through with a pretty a la seconde section. Reading their body language I love how clear it is that their hearts are intertwined with this song. This one has more advanced skills and sophisticated choreo than what I’ve seen the Avions offer up in previous seasons, so with new territory comes a growing period…especially against a compact but stacked 2A field. Take away the penalties and this is a mid-pack 2A dance at North. They’re an intriguing team, so stay tuned…
+ Willowbrook’s first piece keeps me thinkin’. I mean, circa-2000 R&B (when pop music had all those syncopated beats indicative of late ‘90s hip hop influences…I’m lookin’ at you, Britney of ’98-’99) — but in a sophisticated, studioish jazz style. This program loves their hip hop, but they tipped me off at a football game in September that there might be some surprises, and here they are! When a hip hop team does jazz, the audience is locked in for every 8 count.
+ Their 2nd dance is a straight-up hip hop with eye-catching costumes and an artsy edge (reminds me a bit of something Kenwood might tackle). The 808s thump in this piece, and they portray that perfectly with some deep level changes. In fact, level dynamics (back-to-back 8 counts of high and low positions) really give the dance a visual pop at key points. This roast is still cookin’, but I’m already getting a plate ready.
+ The Barbettes (not sure if the name is still official, but I’m using it in this post) from DeKalb are like the sweetest athletes in 2A. Fun-sized like Halloween candy in terms of numbers, but full-on pricey desert as they execute. Granted, they HAVE to keep dancing through transitions to give it a fuller look since they only have 5, but the visual effect is pretty — no boring counts, and reppin’ the barre backgrounds.
+ Lake Forest, slaying assumptions! Their FIRST routine far outpaced their second, though you’d want to be concerned about both if you’re another 2A team. Dance 2 is full-on magnificent. The full-team corner-facing coupé moment is chilling, along with the big secondes section just before the end.
+ But yeah, their pom routine was fire (what a way to start the 2A block of dances). They’ve built some fun flair into their uniformed pom, a style that sometimes can be a bit sterile if you’re not careful. Quality of movement dynamics during a FAST tempo routine? They can do it. This one’s a clinic. Add in the sky-high difficulty and it’s easy to see this as an upper-tier Day 2 dance.
+ The hip hop costumes are great across the board this season, a fact exemplified by the Fenton Dance Force. This is definitely *their* style of HH. We all expect stunt initiations to be in sync, but these athletes also hit the end of floor moments with one mind. All the DJs and beatmakers out there would love for this team to dance to their tracks — hardcore musicality the whole time.
3A clears its throat
+ Two days, four performances for the Conant Charrelles, and they looked pretty fresh the whole time. Routine 1 is their take on that one classic rock song that’s been a hot jazz pick for the past few seasons. An underrated turns team, for sure. And there’s a very cool visual when they ripple in a diagonal to set up the dark, fast outro of the song (you know, the part where there’s mandatory cool choreo). I like this one a bunch.
+ Their 2nd dance is an all-in lyrical where they take on the challenge of advanced skills done in the prettiest way possible. Their quality of movement is a huge plus here. It’s one of the mere handful of dances this winter where I can say that they look like they wrote the song.
+ Contest hosts tend to choose to go last, and Naperville North’s 2nd routine was a fitting wrap-up to a fierce 3A showdown. I could talk about their on-trend dynamics of quality of movement, but the aspect that sticks with you is the storytelling and partner features. Tons of core control is on display with the clean, smooth exits of their advanced turns. I’m getting warm, fuzzy flashbacks to the routine that inspired me to officially dive in to the dance team world, St Charles’s ’96-’97 ballroom-themed jazz routine. No, these two dances aren’t alike at all, but both had pretty dazzling guy-girl partner features and can’t-miss storytelling.
+ You know it’s a frighteningly awesome 3A field when a fantastic dance like Lockport’s 2nd (and 1st!) routine ends up in the middle. A little more matching and this likable lyrical will be on full blast. Their similarly-scored first dance shows that the dark jazz look still has plenty of potency.
+ Having a signature style is obviously super cool, but it carries with it some weighty expectations. The Lancettes bring that Lake Park flavor to both dances. Actually their 2nd one (black) could be seen as a tantalizing “part 2” to their legendary ’22-’23 dance. It’s the kind of routine that can pack gyms and empty the halls during their 2:59 on the floor. Yes, it’s that long, meaning the stamina in this piece is cray.
+ If you’ve ever wondered what the Lancettes’ style would look like at that odd, in-between tempo of 112 beats per minute, you need to see their first dance. Seriously, songs with a steady beat (“four to the floor”) usually happen above 120 BPM. Put that beat at 112 and it’s a very different beast, and it takes a great team to handle it AND incorporate their go-to elements.
+ Niles North still intrigues me with their very upscaled pom work, which I first got to see at Oak Forest last weekend. Sure, this run wasn’t quite as sharp, but there’s no way it was a 10 point drop-off over a seven day period (no penalties, either). Does the perceived field quality worm its way into a team’s score? Here’s where z-scores would shed some light — they would take into account a given panel’s overall “feel” on a given day, and you’d see where a routine ended up on that curve. In the meantime, we’ve got to celebrate what Niles North is doing with this one. It’s a program arcing upward via pom.
+ Huntley was another team with the “challenge accepted” approach of going back-to-back on the busiest comp weekend of the winter. My Saturday mini comment from Oswego still applies, and they still brought the heat on Sunday. The bacon is warming up. I still think it’ll be crispy by January. It’s got all the fave crowd-loving elements we want and need in this genre, done smoothly and athletically.
+ The coaching may have changed, but the on-floor beauty still sings a high note for South Elgin. And yeah, I’m going with Stormettes, whether the official name or not (hi, podcast listeners!). I watched their captivating lyrical from the side; on second watch, I caught a fantastic moment of matched alignment by a floor group, while the “up” group looked pretty as well. Any little variabilities will work themselves out as these dancers heat up comp floors over the next month. But they’ve also joined the “same score, 2 dances” club, alongside Lockport and Downers Grove South among others.
+ AND also Fremd. Looked amazing on LZ’s floor and earned the top spot. Sunday: confirmed my gut feeling that they do have a stellar sizzler of a dance, but their first one is a sneaky-good routine, too. More unconfirmed, non-scientific intuition: they may have had the best 2-day stretch among 3A teams during Comp Weekend 4.
+ These past couple seasons, you just know that when St Charles East takes the floor, it’s going to be an artistic spectacle that sticks with you. I’m convinced you won’t find any clichés in this team’s dance mindset. I missed them at Oswego the day before, but I got my STCE fix twice on Sunday. Dance 1 is a delicious chain of ridges and troughs along a beautiful plot line. Dance 2 is somehow both frenetic and controlled, just like the core emotions of their song. If there’s a level beyond full-out, they found it. Get ready for chills all winter from this one.
+ The long domino of events has paid off. Remember how Stevenson’s JV kept raising eyebrows over the past several years with awesome pom routines? Well here ya go. The pom crop has come up and in the tall cornfields of varsity 3A, the Patriettes’ first dance sticks out wonderfully. It’s no ordinary pom — it’s *so* Stevenson, but just in pom form. And points-wise, it’s nipping at the heels of their quirky but accessible contemporary jazz of Routine 2. I mean, there is some wildly difficult musicality in this one — legit do-or-die moments where it’s gotta be ON or else. Has a full ensemble aerial ever looked so…delicate? Super-scary for 3A: the sync in this debut run was just really-good-ish. So when they add that, run for cover.
+ I’m rewarding the Metea Valley dancers for taking a different road this season and approaching it confidently on the floor. And we’re talking about some perceptible, substantive growth over last week’s run at Oak Forest, though with a points dip I’m trying to figure out. I hope they keep digging because there are more than a few really nice moments and elements in this one.
+ Barrington’s first dance (the classic rock jazz piece) could very well be the top dog when this is all over. Some dances just scream out, “Gigantic trophy.” I love that they showcase the potential of a song that narrower-minded teams, coaches, and choreographers would pass on. I’m comfy calling this the most exciting 3A jazz dance out there. Then they’ve got that lyrical piece in their pockets that’s like someone tapping you on the shoulder, reminding you of their range (within the jazz-contemporary-lyrical ecosystem).
+ Back to the Broncettes’ first routine. Musicality nerds will no doubt love the in-your-face chorus contrasting with that soft, thoughtful verse 1…and the epic “pre-chorus” that serves as a mini climax before count 1 of the actual chorus. And then there’s Janis Joplin’s singularly unmistakable voice: full of attitude, and it comes out in Barrington’s stage presence.
+ What’s it like to start hot, get noticed, and then hold their own against THIS group of teams? Just ask the surging Hersey dancers. Upper-mid-field this time but flexing some clear growth and shiny polish. A slight rematch of 3A teams at Mundelein, this time gaining the upper hand, Sunday’s performance shows that we’re witnessing the start of good things at Hersey. Points gain over a couple weeks ago? This thing is real.
+ Dancing to an updated version of the song I sang along to during the break (on Insta!), Glenbard West continues its re-fresh season of strong performances. A ton of control is required to pull off the vocal musicality that they show in the closing 20 seconds. The visceral heartbreak of the lyrics comes through not just in their overall choreo but also in their body carriage and movement quality; if I had sat on the opposite bleachers, I probably would’ve seen intense faces, too. Score-wise, they’re in that “sectional hold-your-breath” zone and it’ll be exciting to see this one make a run.
+ Small gym vs big gym runs for the Warrens Devilettes show a pretty steady performance quality no matter what floor they want to set on fire. The crowd support might translate a little differently based on gym size, but the heat still emanates from this entertaining HH piece. It’s another 3A dance that seems to ramp up a little bit into the routine when those double-time upper body hits start to make a big impact. Is the 4 point slip from 2 weeks ago a function of a different gym, the vibe of the rest of the 3A field, or just dice rolling? Much like Huntley, you can count on this program (historically) to turn it way up when the stakes are even higher next month.
+ Even for December debuts, all I’m hoping for is a good foundation, and that’s what Naperville Central walked away with. Crafty staging and top-tier musicality tell me that there’s tons of potential in this already-solid lyrical. Among first-time runs this winter, they put out one of the nicer a la secondes sections in 3A. I know when I visited them at a September home game that they were pretty hyped about this season, coming back as defending sectional champs. I can’t help but root for these fun personalities who happen to also have a formidable set of jazz-lyrical skills. Crosstown floor showmanship? Solidly nailed.
+ Pom’s alive and well thanks to programs like the Ramettes of Glenbard East. These formations and transitions aren’t easy, and with a little cleaning, it’s easy to envision this one lunging forward over the next month. Watching from the wrong side, their back row is my front row, and it looks like the roster depth is in pretty good shape (you definitely want max numbers on the floor with this style). Stamina is an asset here — I remember an uncomfortably large number of stairs to get to their upstairs dance space, so maybe that’s the secret sauce!
+ I can’t resist teams that are aggressive and ambitious with what they want to achieve in a performance, so that’s why I count Waubonsie’s 2nd dance (pom) as a good watch. “Growth mindset” fans are going to like keeping tabs on this one. I think many teams would be out of breath just marking this dance. Cleaner but more reserved (a smidge too reserved? Maybe maybe?) is their 1st dance (lyrical), nicely performed and could be a sneaky-good midfield battler the rest of the way.
+ York presses all the right buttons. Their dance shows that they’re full-fledged members of the full-team aerials club. It’s amazing that such a big team has so many stars — they sure know how to bake a multi-layered dance. Many teams are focused on landing and then holding a cleaning count after secondes turns, but York has most of their athletes going right into a front walkover. Can’t have a Day 2 convo without bringing up these ladies.
JV is jammin’
+ I turned to my coaching friend about halfway through a set of amazing JV dances and opined, “Remember when JV looked like JV?” The Stevenson – St Charles East – York – Lake Park JV block of dances were crazy good. When tryouts come around, you’ll be totally fine if you check the box marked “Would you accept a position on JV?” We’re also going to need even more JV coaches with this division becoming so skilled, and also for this reason: the gap continues to widen between the advanced JV teams and the novice ones.
Seriously, I’m borrowing from NASCAR
+ Yes, for real. So in NASCAR, where officials are constantly thinking through all the little ways that race teams can bend or sometimes break the technical rules, the organization puts out a technical bulletin each week. It has reminders and elaborations on possible technical violations that have come up in the past week, or that are forecast to come up this week (due to the unique aspects of the track they’re racing at).
+ We can apply this to competitive dance. After each comp day, a technical / rules bulletin sent out to all officials and teams would basically have this info:
+ “In routine X, Team A executes element P and it incurred a penalty of ___ points.” Or for non-performance issues: “In routine X, Team A commited violation Q and it incurred a penalty of ___ points.”
+ The idea is that all officials and teams would be on alert. There would be less of a chance of getting away with an infraction, or not knowing about an infraction and then committing it without intent, or suffering a penalty at one comp but not another, or misapplying an amount of points loss. More points losses could be avoided, along with fewer (hopefully zero) instances of variability in penalty assessments.
+ It’s much more timely than emailing IHSA or relying on ad-hoc communications. It promotes equal access to information, especially for novice coaches and dancers. It lets teams make adjustments immediately — which matters in terms of hard-to-get gym space and back-to-back comps. And with greater community-wide transparency about what teams are dancing which routines when and where, more consistency can be achieved.
+ To take the NASCAR metaphor further, I don’t think the “stay in your lane, Norm” argument applies. For one dance in particular, I ran the vids from both performances and they were the same on Saturday and Sunday, but with very different penalties. In a tournament system that’s hyper-focused on scores and placements, this reform needs to happen. And it’s an *easy* fix, even if it involves some Saturday night typing.
Seen At The Crystal Lake Central Comp…(the tiny bit that I was there for)
+ Let’s not talk about the drive from Naperville to C.L.
+ But I WILL talk about how much I love this old building and fieldhouse. Newbie 8CA fans might not know that I’ve had the honor to be this legendary program’s music editor since the ’03-’04 season. An unbroken chain of poms and dance team alums has led CLC’s program the whole time. It’s not a stretch to say that this program, this place, these folks — they all helped shape what I wanted to do with 8CA through the years and how I see poms and dance team.
+ Shoutout to the ticket table staffers who noted that my hand already had a stamp from another comp that day! It’s a bit of a maze to get to the gym from the back entrance (when set up for comps), but you get to see just how wonderfully ancient this school is. Like, class pictures from the 1920s are on the hallway walls. I took a shortcut through the cafeteria where sometimes the great CLC pom teams of the 2000s would run Thursday night practice. Just amazing memories for me.
+ The venerable gym that puts on this great comp every December is also the dance team’s main practice space. I’ve been to dozens of practices over the years (where I learned a ton about the nuts and bolts of the sport) on this very floor.
+ Back to reality: micro bleachers compared to most gyms! But I found a good spot to catch a few of the ending dances. Crystal Lake South did not disappoint — they’re working on a lengthy, multi-year tradition of outside-the-box dances backed up by talented rosters. Central’s beautiful lyrical showed tangible growth over their Mundelein run. If this dance isn’t on your 2A radar, turn back, Goose and Maverick! (Yes, I watched both Top Guns last week).
+ I so appreciated that the DJ announced at awards that trophy placements would be by TEAM! Possibly a by-product of it being mentioned on the 8CA podcast???
+ Buffalo Grove caught my attention at Deerfield, and in just two short weeks they’ve transformed a hot start into a 1st place win among some good 2A teams. I wish I got to see this one on Sunday because their awards celebration said so much (they’re the back left corner team in white).
+ Also earning a shoutout is Freeport who tends to do well on this floor (it can’t hurt that the school colors match up), and the Morris Varsity Poms for picking up the 1A win a week ahead of their big home comp. And then there’s always-likable Jacobs, who initially had to contend with some coaching uncertainties but now are in experienced, wise hands. Outcome: the team gets to military-press a first place 3A trophy.
+ Then came the obligatory late-evening Portillo’s stop.
