Seen At The Glenbard South Comp…
Posted 1/2/25 5:45 pm
THAT TIME I CIRCLED BACK TO THE BEGINNING
+ It’s a long path, and I appreciate every stage of it. LONG STORY SHORT: there was a point in high school where I went from, “Oh yeah some of my friends are on poms,” to, “WHY would someone come to poms practice before school and then do it again after school, and do we really have to go to their competition on Sunday,” to, “Damn, these people put so much into it.”
+ In the ‘90s I witnessed Glenbard South’s Raiderettes striving to just try to qualify for IDTA’s north supersectionals, and then if really lucky, they’d move on to state. After that came a lot of those “hanging around the sport” kind of years — like, just flashes of brief success in the mid-‘00s and early-‘10s. Then came the Raider Dance Team’s late-2010s revitalization, soon followed by state appearances and then consistent Day 2 status.
+ Not to make it all about me. But in this case, the moment overflowed with personal significance. That long transformation, shared by eras that have nothing to do with each other…leading to a couple big events on the Glenbard South home floor in 2024.
+ No lie: it was exceedingly amazing to have Glenbard South host our 2nd-annual 8CA All-State Celebration last spring. I don’t thank the RDT family or Coach Haley Kruis enough for that opportunity. We brought the best dancers from teams from across the state to the 8CA home floor, somehow, and in April (prime studio comp season).
+ As much as April’s event slapped, I have to say that Comp Weekend 6’s contest at Glenbard South was just as cool.
+ Conference comp aside, this was GBS’s first-ever regular competition as host. It was my second year of being at a comp the day after the big Stagg competition that usually wraps up the year’s action. Whether it was Metea Valley in ’23 or GBS this year, that Sunday can have a low-key vibe to it. But I was pretty hyped, along with a slate of teams that, as a group, don’t get to enjoy the spotlight nearly as much as they deserve. AND they did it with a pretty good crowd for winter break:
+ As expected, Coach Haley Kruis and her parent volunteers had the place looking festive. I’m pretty sure Coach Haley’s secret artsy side led to this schedule design:
+ I sat with yet another crew from the Double B Entertainment DJ family, making for two consecutive days of nerdy music convo between routines. And as mentioned in the latest podcast, I’m proud to flex that I was able to, off the top of my head, write in many of the school mascot and team names onto the schedule for the DJ to announce. Lesson for all trivia geeks: it eventually pays off, at a certain time and place…
+ While the “final comp Sunday of the year = casual” formula proved true (especially with the one-sided schedule), we still had a good crowd with their light-up signage, full-throated support (does the Reavis fanbase have a volume knob?), and supportive shoutouts. AND look at this trophy display:
NOTES, NUGGETS, IMPRESSIONS
A 1A House
+ 1A programs are thriving in the middle of DuPage County, and this gym’s home team is part of that ascendancy. The former DVC gym went through a few small-conference affiliations before its current Upstate Eight status. But through all those iterations, South was always a small school.
+ So it fits to start with the teams of the frequently-fascinating 1A landscape.
+ Carmel Catholic’s performances keep letting everyone know why they’re the current third-place-in-state trophy holders. I can’t think of a comp this winter where they had even a hint of an off day, or even an off 8-count. Especially notable is their crisp attack into each of the important counts, which is pretty impressive during the first verse (no drums, sparse piano, and counted in sixes / twelves). The drums go away for the prechorus and their switch to a more flowing tone perfectly matches that musical moment. All that’s left to add is a twist on the synchro knob and these dancers should have a red-hot January.
+ So much good choreo lives in the 1A world — just look at Ridgewood. It’s an ultra-likable, passionate jazz that saves the most impactful skills for the more meaningful moments in the song (we get the big turns hitting at about 0:55). If you like partner work throughout a routine, here ya go!
+ Clean and spiffy during much of their pom routine is Northside College Prep. The vocalized hits to mark the landing of a skill is a thing that’s gone in and out of style through the decades, but it’s pretty effective in this one. As a music editor I love this strategic choreo that puts multiple exclamation points on the musicality aspects. Check this one out for its staging and how they use height dynamics to spotlight whichever group has the big skill at that moment.
+ Northside’s first dance has plenty of craftiness, too. It’s a cool look to have the floor/acro group do their thing after expanding to the side, and then deliver a flexible back walkover to return back to the center and reset the formation. Also fun is that hint of pom staging and showmanship but applied to jazz — look out for that nugget when they’re in their circle formation.
+ With today’s runs and last week’s, it’s been a huge points haul lately for the Raider Dance Team. Home floor familiarity is only part of the story — the palpable sharpness glow-up since Comp Weekend 1 is pretty serious. For a low-key group they’re fierce on the floor during both routines. I’m putting my own affiliation aside for a moment when I write that the program transformation still stuns me every time I see Glenbard South hit the floor.
+ It’s a nice problem to have: TWO stellar dances. Honestly, they can shine in late January with either one. For the casual vibes and positivity, I bet this is a fun team to be on:
Lots of “Lettin’ Ya Know” Up And Down the 2A Lineup
+ Speaking of craftiness — one of the biggest challenges for music that’s got a steady, fast beat is to show a variety of movement quality. Hillcrest’s great at that in their 2nd dance: punchy most of the time, then sometimes hitting the audience with a surprising slow movement that squeezes every millisecond out of those counts. These are some of the most confident, characterful walking transitions anywhere in Illinois dance right now. One huge advantage with single turns: they’re quick, there’s no need for a “cleaning / hold” count afterwards, and you can get to the next thing right away. Hair whip fans, you’ll wanna see this one!
+ You can find that same confidence, but with a different flavor, in Hillcrest’s first dance — a double-timed pom with a ton of sneaky, fun elements. Any team that can run down the checklist but still make it fresh and entertaining has definitely accomplished something big! Kinda a bonus watching from the side: a clump formation (low in front, upright in back) that made a perfect ramp upward from front to back. They take care of little details like this, even at a fast tempo.
+ I love how multiple styles can leak into good hip hop choreo. Watching Grayslake North, I sometimes see a pom mentality in the hands and arms, and a jazzy flow and arcing flexibility in the stunts / tricks. One of my fave moments of the whole day was a sudden movement quality shift that appeared against the same, steady beat of “Seven Nation Army.” Grays North had the middle group slowly sink to the floor while the two wing groups slowly rose up at the same tempo—a fantastic visual.
+ One of the brightest breakouts this season: Maine West (which I elaborate on in the latest podcast). Dance 1(hip hop) has one of my favorite song transition movements in 2A. The Warriorettes also show off a couple moments of very cool “rise up” type of motions that nail the musicality. Showing off their stylistic range, dance 2 is a pretty stunning lyrical that scrambles your perceptions of how the three Maine teams are or aren’t alike. This dance is a beautiful statement both on its own and in terms of where this program can go. No lie: multiple watches here at the 8CA desk over winter break.
+ You heard about it during our winter break podcast — Thornton Township has an ultra-fun team name! The Sophisticats: any floor is their canvas. They paint a subtly creepy production this season with wide, dramatic staging, interesting dynamics in quality of movement, and XL servings of showmanship. A couple moments are delightfully unsettling (for one of them, I was like, “They’re holding that pose forever!”). It’s one of those put-the-rubric-down kind of dances — ya just gotta experience this hidden gem.
+ Ever-reliable in the hip hop world is Fenton’s legendary Dance Force. Reppin’ the coolest “F” logo on the backs of their costumes, all the visuals POP in this piece. I just have the feeling that this routine was designed to grow throughout the winter, and if I’m in 2A, I need to watch out for what this might do toward mid-month. It’s hard to find a better hip hop musicality example than what they’ve got going on here. Look for the fun little details especially in the last couple songs.
+ It’s hard not to be in JCP’s corner after their challenges last February. Right away the crowd gets a look at Jones College Prep’s range of trick-flexibility (some jazzy acro visuals in back, strong stalls up front, all anchored by a convincing character in the middle). No doubt there’s some jazz studio backgrounds on the roster based on their lightness-on-feet and body placement precision. Is it me or is there something crazy / funky / slinky about the arm choreo throughout this super fun hip hop? Eye-catching costumes don’t hurt either. I’m hoping this dance sticks around beyond the normal comp weekends.
+ I talked a bit about Addison Trail in the latest podcast — they’re your classic under-the-radar program through the years. But with the blossoming of so many usually-quiet dance programs throughout the (630) region, it’s a great time for the Blazettes to step out. Tons of credit to these dancers for proving (right away in the routine) their understanding of the flow of a song that’s counted in threes / sixes / twelves. I’m a fan of how they hold selected counts for max drama. This dance on this floor (kinda close to home) was a significant statement for the program — you’ll be hearing from them.
+ Those Demon Squad dancers took care of business on the first note of the vocals. “Eleanor Rigby’s” first lyric, “I,” pretty much requires you to do something really cool and visual with what’s one of the most iconic notes in classic rock. With four dancers, the showmanship load for each Maine East athlete is pretty heavy for each of them, and they absolutely come through. It’s one of the more elegant dances across divisions this winter. So many times with this song we get a strong modern jazz / quirky flavor, but this one is straight-up sophisticated jazz/lyrical, so it’s pretty refreshing in that aspect.
+ I’ll wrap up my 2A notes with the Sabrettes. Tutting fans get their moment in this piece when the ensemble clumps in the corner. As expected, Streamwood came through with an even bigger performance over previous runs. There’s a floor moment with a synchro’d leg-cross-twist to set up coming off the floor, and right there they show the growth of this piece. The bleachers get a big dose of this team’s convincing personas on that final count. I’m cheering this one on right through the finish line this season!
Big Teams, Big Statements By 3A Teams
+ Niles North, after delivering an increasingly crisp pom performance for dance 1, came back in the afternoon for a lyrical that’s chock full of chills. It’s gots of eye-pleasing motions that are guided by the vocals, and they’re speaking loud and clear with their studio-like visuals. The choreo is pretty aggressive for the program and it’s a good look. Earlier this season I was intrigued by their pom, but this 2nd dance has me thinkin’…
+ We need to raise the roof for Metea Valley. I know she’s a lyrical fan, so I’m sure that my mention of Coach Bonnie Czerkies’ tears on the podcast wasn’t like embarrassing or anything (it gave Coach Paige goosebumps on the phone). In case you missed it in the episode, I explained that Coach Bonnie let me know that she’s never won an IHSA placement trophy, hence the emotions. And this, after winning an IDTA category title (AAA pom) in 2023! This jazzy side of Metea is turning into such an enjoyable watch. I did a side-by-side of my vids of their comp runs this winter, and the contrast was like night and day… today was their turning point. Confirmed: hard work (and being willing to make adjustments) pays off.
+ Going with a proven winner of a song, East Aurora took a fearless approach to the wide-open musicality of the intro. I’ve seen the program go for hip hop and lyrical in recent years, but they look good in full-on jazz / contemporary mode in this piece. Right toward the end they show off the sharpness to highlight the musicality, just at the point where a lot of teams might not have the stamina to do so. We got to witness some praiseworthy growth by East Aurora on this floor!
+ Side note: “Cry Me A River” was a modest top 5 hit in the winter of ’02-’03, eclipsed by JT’s bigger and catchier solo singles. It was largely forgotten until the late 2010s when it was revived in the dance world, and soon became the soundtrack to some very memorable routines at all levels. But really — from 2004 through maybe 2018, this track was just a minor piece of Timberlake’s hit list…until choreographers and dance teams got their hands on it!
+ Reavis gets a lot of coverage on 8CA’s socials and content, and it’s partly due to their ultra-memorable routines and performances. As a dance team fan (well, really, as a poms fan — meaning the old-school name of the sport and not just the category), I can’t help but gravitate toward their presence! These are the kinds of pom routines that tend to keep sharpening up as the winter rolls along, so they’re in a good place as we head into the hottest stretch. If you see them on a schedule, be ready to be entertained.
+ It took awhile, but my travels finally caught up with the frequently-intriguing Dundee-Crown program. Impressively they keep all the execution pretty sharp for the first half of the dance, which doesn’t have any guiding percussion or drum beats. Right when the drums show up, their big turns also bust through the doors (an eye-catching secondes-pirouettes-secondes sequence). It’s a no-down-moments kind of contemporary jazz, where they’re always expressing the song in a pretty athletic yet graceful way. You can tell that precise counting is part of the game plan — there’s a floor slap right at the end that’s a do-or-die moment of synchro.
+ The (historically named) Chargerettes have a more traditional lyrical in their pockets, run as routine 1 at GBS. It’s more of a visuals / ensemble-dancing kind of dance, and possibly just as potent as their second routine. If I had my way, I’d rewrite the rubric because both pieces are nearly equally just as enjoyable to watch. Or we can just go back to categories!
+ Side note, and way random: in the early and mid-‘00s, D-C had a BIG competition every February, and one time hosted the North Supersectional in IDTA. Good times in IL dance.
+ Just in time for winter break: while I’ve been called a Santa-ish figure for appearing at random comps and handing out gifts of encouragement, the real Santa stopped by to hand out the actual awards:
+ As I told South’s JV Coach Kaitlin, the GBS home comp was literally a dream come true for me. I hope you can overlook the hubris in this ridiculously fanciful imagery, but it was like I got to whisper to those ghosts of old Raiderette teams from the ’90s, “Don’t worry about being out-choreographed and out-skilled…we’ll bring the state dance team spotlight to this gym for a couple key days in 2024.” Ok, that was tons of hubris, true!
+ But for real: This comp gave the spotlight to several teams who normally don’t get to experience it. That’s super 8CA. So my personal thanks goes to those programs for both their daring and also their hard work. And, of course, thank you to the GBS dance family for making this happen. What a way to head into winter break and all its fuzzy, warm feels!