LOCATION:

Oak Forest HS. 15201 S. Central Ave., IL 60452

TIME:

Sunday, December 1. 2A teams dance starting at 9 with their awards scheduled for 11:30. 1A and 3A run from 1 to around 4.

TEAM DIVISIONS:

3A, 2A (2 separate groups), 1A, 3A JV, 2A JV (2 separate groups), and 1A JV

FAN TIPS:

In keeping with the casual vibes of a long holiday weekend, we’re appreciating the lower stress that comes with running 2A in the morning and 3A and 1A in the afternoon. Since there are separate morning and afternoon awards, that means parking and bleacher space should both be on the easier side.

FANS and TEAMS: bring non-perishable canned goods to help out the Together We Cope food pantry in the south suburbs!

Willowbrook’s hip hop stands out for its sharpness. I think part of the clean look is that costume: busy (and way cool!) pants, balanced with a lot of very crisp arm work that the plain top lets you focus on. Once upon a time this program dished out potent pom routines but this dance absolutely shows their hip hop talent!

Kenwood keeps impressing me with this fun dance.They’re not just coming to comps to show up and get feedback and gain experience. You just get the feeling that these dedicated dancers are out to capture your attention and they definitely have mine.

When Marist isn’t doing pom you can usually rely on them for good jazz/lyrical work. I’m glad to see that dance is thriving on the southwest side of the city!

Reavis had a firm grip on the hip hop genre over the past several years but they’ve found a nice identity with their enthusiastic, energetic pom work. I was watching on the wrong side but still enjoyed the visuals!

Now that’s how you bounce back. Wauconda’s 2nd outing of the year at Mundelein was just a smidge shaky, but they looked pretty crisp at Oak Forest and won their half of the 2A field. And these ladies know how to rule the pre-awards dance floor party!

Thornton Fractional South (TF South if you’re into shorter names) threw down a solid hip hop performance and looked sharp in these costumes. I especially noticed their spot-on musicality and how together they looked in close formations.

Another mark of a good team: I take a shaky picture and they STILL look good. Lemont’s totally back in the convo about who’s a threat to dance on Saturday at IHSA state.

Romeoville’s choreography has lots of creative spirit and the team executes it nicely. I really like teams that dare to imagine what they can do with a normal gym floor. Props to the program for steadily growing their jazz program over the past decade!

Bolingbrook raises the roof with this energetic, smart, and effective pom routine. Romeoville’s sister school is known for their killer hip hop work especially in IDTA, so it’s awesome to see Bolingbrook bring a fun pom routine alongside their hip hop dance to an IHSA comp. They’re faves in IDTA’s hip hop category, but I’m feeling they can take this one pretty far at IDTA state in the pom (or pom dance) category. (If you look in the record books, Bolingbrook was one of the dominant dance programs back in the early 1980s!)

It’s official: Providence Catholic is feeling cozy in 1A and are on a serious roll toward January success. Their 2nd routine was a sweet and chill way to wrap up the afternoon session on Sunday!

Glenbard East brings a strong musicality game to their lyrical performance. Like so many hit ballads of the ’80s and ’90s, this one has dramatic tempo variations key moments in the song, and these dancers do a great job keeping up with the changes. It’s challenging but this kind of song opens up a ton of musicality chances!

I’ve seen Homewood-Flossmoor take on all different styles over the years but they’re hitting their stride with this jazz-lyrical routine. Plus they dance it from the heart and you can just feel their authenticity. You don’t often see cropped jazz pants but they create a nice effect with every movement!

Are ya feeling this Downers Grove South resurgence? Same coaches, same big rosters, but just an extra spark this season! Once again the dance scene is hot in DG on both sides of the downtown tracks.

Taft routines are gems for any fan of pom! This year’s routine shows a more polished and poised Taft program from the northwest side of the city. 3A is always hard but I can see this team potentially rocking your boat at sectionals!

So far, so good at Plainfield Central where the team’s transitioned to a new coach this season. These dancers are in the middle of a district loaded with dance talent. This dance caught my eye for its fluidity and expressive execution.

Oak Park-River Forest gets their changing spot turns out of the way cleanly and early in their routine, leaving the crowd hooked for the rest of the performance. Gotta keep an eye on this good routine through the rest of the winter…

West Chicago came back later in the afternoon with their more serious and intense jazz routine, but early on they treated us to a fun pom creation! These costumes are a definite mood-lifter, though their real power is how perfectly they mesh with the theme and music.

High fives go to Harlem (from the Rockford area) for taking a road trip to dance in the near-southwest suburbs of Chicago to compete. I’ve watched Harlem routines for years and this year’s team is different: cleaner, more confident, and more skilled. And they’re knocking on the door of joining the top levels of the 3A landscape sooner than later.

Whitney Young was solid in a very small 3A field last weekend at Deerfield, but they erased any doubts on Sunday at Oak Forest. The week-to-week improvement impressed me a ton! If these perennial hip hop stars make that kind of progress at that pace, you’ll see this dance make a dash for a downstate slot.

The Lincoln-Way Central program has graduated from my “team on the rise” status of 3 years ago and now sits firmly in 3A’s elite ranks. Their beautiful season debut has some room to grow, yet you can totally see the seeds of a great state routine at this early stage.

2A GROUP 1 SCORES

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