Still So Summer (Part 1)
by Norm Ramil, 8CA main person and dance team fan
6/19/20 8:00pm
It looks way different than it should.
We’re in a weird, unprecedented summer. The clues are all around us, and it’s not just those Instagram posts of teams talking about their tentative July in-person tryouts.
One big clue comes by every day around dinner. The sunlight of a mid-June 6pm hour has a certain look to it, bathing our familiar surroundings in such a unique way and giving everything a glorious glow.
As I caught sight of those beautiful rays yesterday it hit me: the one time of the year when the light looks like THIS, I’m supposed to be driving west to a UDA camp to watch home routines. In June it’s usually to the Wheaton College camp 12 minutes from my house, or the NIU camp an hour west. Or the elite camp at Pheasant Run Resort in St Charles. But for any of those, it was always a drive towards the west, into the most charming evening sunlight that nature can come up with. I miss that.
I miss seeing teams at summer practices or car washes, and catching up with old friends and making new ones. I miss those messy home routines where you start to see the sparks of talent that could lead to amazing falls and winters. I miss seeing team get-togethers at pools or Portillo’s, casually posted onto a team’s story.
Then there’s this fact that a pandemic can’t change: it’s still summer. The trees are green and leafy, the AC is relentless in our cars and houses, and someone out there shoots off fireworks every night way in the distance.
Summer’s when ya…
Summer’s when you get to know your new team both at practice and outside of practice. You get your uniforms and way more team gear than your parents expected to have to buy. It’s when you start conditioning, learning new skills, refining technique, and learning competition choreography.
Summer’s when you start planting the seeds for a great fall and winter.
If your team is looking to replace those experiences you’re missing out on this summer, we at 8 Count Audio want to help.
Teachers with a super specific talent
Before we unveil formats and pricing for our Technique Sessions in the next post, I really want to share with you my approach to building a great team here at 8CA.
As you know, I’ve been pretty picky about which former dancers come on board as staffers. The talented people who cover all the competitions on our social media weren’t just legit stars on their teams, but also difference-makers in how a team looked and performed both at practice and on the comp floor. Now they’re analysts who can communicate about the artistic and technical aspects of our sport.
For our Technique Sessions, I’ve also been way picky about finding the best coaches.
Over the years I’ve been to hundreds of practices and have learned first hand what the connections are between a certain kind of teaching style and a certain kind of result on the competition floor.
I’ve kept a short list of coaches who are exceptional at a super specific skill: teaching and refining dance team technique to athletes striving to get points from a rubric in a choreography context.
So while there’s tons of coaching talent out there, tons of amazing tech teachers, tons of brilliant choreographers, I focused on teaming up with coaches who check off a lot of very detailed boxes. Throw in their state floor experience as dancers and coaches, and all I can say is that I’m blessed to even just know these stellar individuals.
Details are coming your way like a pom toss. Format, pricing, for sure. But I’m especially looking forward to sharing how we’ve built a growth mentality into our 8CA Technique Sessions! Yes—this isn’t how we pictured summer 2020 even 6 months ago. But with a few modifications, bold ideas, and outstanding people, we can help you realize that it’s still so summer.