Slideshow 1 extra notes

slide 1: Villa Grove

Yup, I started the first slideshow with a pic I didn’t even take of a team that danced in the ’17-’18 season! We were lucky enough to have Villa Grove as a featured team last summer, and Coach Sarah Bouton was nice enough to provide some pics from their most recent season. So much of our coverage is tilted toward Chicago, so I love spreading the word about amazing teams from across the state. Villa Grove has made a habit of slaying the hip hop game in both IHSA and IDTA.

slide 2: Nazareth

I dropped in on their practice back on November 13th, and the team was busily putting on the final changes to their jazz/lyrical routine that they’d debut a few days later at the Andrew comp. Classic cafeteria-style practice setting and just a nice team, solidly coached. I remember thinking that choreo-wise, they were making all the right choices.

slide 3: Fenton

If you had to come up with a list of usual suspects in 2A, of course you’d lead it off with Geneva and Lake Zurich. Count Fenton as another 2A team that’s always in the mix on Day 2 of IHSA state. This year they rocked it all season from beginning to end. I got to watch their fall showcase on a blustery and chilly Saturday, October 6th. The main vibe I got that night was how tightly knit that dance family is. And that I wish the whole dance community could be there to check out how Fenton’s expertise goes way beyond hip hop. I loved that team members up and down the roster were encouraged to bring pieces to this show. How often do dancers get to come up with their own stuff and present it to an audience?

slide 4: Hinsdale South

As I’m writing this tonight, this team and their school district is in the news. It’s astounding and heartbreaking that this team can win the IDTA AAA Kick championship on February 9, and then spend March 1 (a day off) rallying to save their athletic programs. But that won’t stop me from celebrating yet another kick championship for this program! These ladies killed it all season with their sizzling kick routine. I always thought that the Hornet Danceline should get more credit for kick dances that are at the same time technically sharp, visually compelling and absolutely entertaining to watch.  Don’t just love them ’cause they’re holding on to an old school vibe. Love them ’cause they do it so well!

slide 5: Sandburg

I loved getting to know the Sandburg dancers this season. This clip is from the Geneva sectional after they earned a trip to Bloomington. We featured them back in 2016 so it was refreshing to come back and rediscover this gem of a dance program. These ladies had an outstanding season with a powerful routine. But I’ll always remember their positive vibes. And honestly, I’m grateful for how enthusiastic they were every time we crossed paths. The Eaglettes were everything that I love about this sport: talented, hopeful, and vibrant. And definitely fun to be around! 

That sweet pocket of top-tier dance in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago is so intriguing…Sandburg, Andrew, Lemont to the west and Lyons to the north, and Lincoln Way Central to the south. These are dancers that definitely deserve your attention!

slide 6: Wheaton North

Ok, so this pic isn’t of the team, but it’s one of my fave artifacts from the season. I snapped their word of the week when I visited their practice back on November 1st. They had it on a small chalkboard propped up next to their sound system for the whole team to see. I loved seeing this message because I think that it’s so important to go into your first comp with the right mindset. You’d better bring a lot of heart to early November because that first scoresheet is going to shake up your expectations!

slide 7: Downers Grove North

Rewind to their August 25 car wash, the day after a soggy first night of football that I’m sure a lot of you remember. Luckily the sun came out and it made for more car-washy weather! I like this shot because so much about their story wasn’t yet written. New coach, a new season, and at that moment, the future was wide open! The DGN Athenas are one of the Chicago area’s longest-running dance programs. For years and years they hosted the final regular season competition, usually on the last Saturday of February! Teams from (630) would dance at that one, and (847) / (815) teams would dance at the Prairie Ridge comp on the same day.

slide 8: Quincy

This southwestern IL town has 2 schools and they both rock at dance. This Quincy dancer proudly shows off her team’s state-winning trophy for AAA Pom at the IDTA state finals back on February 9th in Springfield. These ladies excelled at the big, bold look of a classic pom routine stretching across the entire floor.

slide 9: Prospect

This was from my 2nd visit with the impressive dancers from Prospect. October 9th was warm and sunny so I felt some summer vibes as the team practiced in their cafeteria with plenty of windows. Then a thunderstorm came through toward the end, and then more sunshine as the girls wrapped it up. I remember Coach Tole going over details of the team’s kids camp scheduled for that Friday night and how it was forecast to be really cold and windy, basically the total opposite of what they were seeing outside the window at that moment.

Prospect’s going to be one of our Featured Teams this month so I’ll hold off on more comments right now! But man, these ladies had a fantastic lyrical routine that really showed off their skills this season!

slide 10: Kennedy (Cedar Rapids, IA)

This is from home routine night at NIU’s UDA camp back on July 26th. The one non-Illinois team was Kennedy and they brought a sharp pom routine! This was one of my favorite mixes of teams at a camp last summer: Evanston, Maine East, Warren, Oak Forest, Naperville Central, Maine South, Hinsdale South, and Lyons Township. Six months later a lot of these dancers would get to hoist state trophies!

slide 11: Antioch

Yup, the ’17-’18 season wasn’t a fluke. The Antioch dance program is sooooo back and they proved it with a dominating season in ’18-’19. I was honored to be their music editor for their beautiful lyrical. Here’s how good it was: I personally don’t love the song, but their routine made me appreciate it more and more each time I saw these talented ladies dance to it. That really shows the power of what excellent dancers and mesmerizing choreography can do. This shot is from the Grayslake Central comp just 6 days before sectionals.

slide 12: Warren

September 4 was steamy but I got treated to watching Warren–the hip hop experts–craft a halftime dance with kick elements. One of the things I love preaching is that what you see at comps (especially in this era of bringing one routine that ends up looking like everyone else’s) is such a narrow view of what a team is. I loved getting to know Coach Reuss and her chill style. The Devilettes came across as a fun group of dancers with a love of perfection. Definitely one of the Chi area’s elite programs and it was an honor to sit in on a practice!

slide 13: St. Charles East

Uh oh, I feel a long article coming on. The return of STCE to dance prominence. The return of Coach Batka. Well back on June 27 while dance royalty was headed to nearby Pheasant Run for UDA’s elite camp, I hung out with St. Charles East in their cafeteria for their own mini-camp. Each class of dancers had to come up with a full meal and the coaches, passers-by (and myself) got to taste-test their creations and pick winners! This kind of team bonding, plus crafting a powerful routine that they spent so much time reflecting on, led to the best season this Saints dance program has seen in forever. And it was pretty cool to have witnessed the early stages!

slide 14: Lockport

Ugh, I got in late on featuring the Porterettes on our Insta. But I finally got to a game on February 12th and watched them perform a fun hip hop halftime dance on a snowy Tuesday night. (The girls kindly provided this pic from earlier in the evening before I got there). We featured Lockport on our blog back in the summer of 2016 and since then the program’s been one of those under-the-radar teams…they can sneak up on you with talent and skill and suddenly you’re facing them on the marley in Bloomington! Coach Rolston and her dancers also hosted a comp back in January. Definitely another team I’m gonna be keeping an eye on for next season!

slide 15: St. Joseph-Ogden

Hmmm…whenever you see a hyphenated school name, you automatically think small town, right? Well in this case, yes, you’re right. But SJO has a nice history of state performances in IDTA, and this year’s team came in 3rd for the A division of Lyrical / Contemporary at IDTA state on February 9th. And that 3rd was hard-earned, coming behind powerhouses Clinton and Eureka (Clinton came in 2nd on Day 1 of IHSA behind Morris and Eureka danced in Bloomington, too). Also want to give these dancers credit for some awesome looking sweatshirts!

slide 16: UDA camp at Wheaton College

These dancers got together back on July 20th. Wheaton College’s King Center is definitely one of the nicest gyms around, and I hear the campus accommodations are nice. Though take it from someone who lives next to Wheaton–it’s not exactly a fun place, lol. Among the athletes pictured are dancers from Yorkville and Cary-Grove!

slide 17: DeKalb

We’d just gotten back from a trip to UDA events in St Louis and Peoria the night before, so we took the rental car to visit the DeKalb dancers at practice the next morning (July 24th). Coach Valkner and her dancers were busy building up their skills that morning while also ironing out the details for upcoming halftime dances. I’ll always remember thinking that this moment pretty much exemplified what summer dance is about: hot outside, chilly inside, talented dancers in a sweet dance room, bringing years of training and crafting a successful fall and winter. All while your typical high school kid is still sleeping in…

slide 18: Plainfield North

Alright, so the guy always captured the audience’s attention, but this Plainfield North team, as a group, stood out to me all season. These dancers definitely brought it at 3A sectionals at Geneva. This strong routine qualified for IHSA state. It was, I think, one of the first dances I saw as I walked in late having rushed from the Huntley comp. I remember thinking that all eyes were on this sectional since every other site was done for the day…kind of like on Friday afternoons when the Cubs are the only baseball game going on in the majors. 

slide 19: the Edwardsville comp

Just a sweet table of hardware up for grabs back on January 5th! After years of collabing on music I finally got to meet Coach Duncan of Edwardsville after awards. Super nice gym! We featured her team back in the summer of ’16.

slide 20: Maine South

Not much to say because they’re just awesome! Here they are doing what they do best at the Fremd comp on November 17th. The long line, a classic feature in kick routines, is called a “height line” or, more rarely, a “company front.”

slide 21: Centralia

Yup, it’s the hip hop dance that takes you through MJ’s songs through the decades! You’ll always remember it for the wigs and the costume change. Definitely a crowd-pleaser that caught tons of attention at IHSA state. This shot’s from the last IDTA comp at Highland on February 2nd, on their way to an IDTA AA Hip Hop championship a week later.

slide 22: Crystal Lake Central

I dropped by to visit with my beloved CLC dancers and coaches back on August 13th. I like this shot because it shows off their strength, visuals, and teamwork, and it was just a warm-up! And I was probably talking with Coaches Lex and Alli about food or music at that moment.

slide 23: IC Catholic

The ICCP dancers brought their captivating jazz routine to the halftime floor on January 15, days before sectionals. This little 1A team has been a gem for the past few seasons. These dancers, without fail, always made me feel welcome and valued, which I think reflects on their coach and their school environment. So much heart and they transformed a humble gym floor into an artistic canvas for those 2 minutes on an icy January night.

slide 24: Morris

New coach? Well not really. Coach Carlson had been the assistant at Morris for several seasons and this year she guided her dancers to the 1A front-runner position all year. I’m so proud to have gotten to know the program over the past few years and feel that their long list of successes keeps leading them to the ultimate prize, somewhere down the road. 

slide 25: Andrew comp

I was so lucky to have an amazing staff this year. Mia covered the dances at the Andrew comp on November 17th and caught this awesome crowd of talented south and west suburban teams before awards.

slide 26: Lake Zurich

I love seeing top-tier teams in the summer and fall. The LZ dancers braved through a seriously cold and windy night to perform at their final home game on October 12th. Coach Johlie let us hang with her team in their dance room as they warmed up (literally) before halftime. I’ll never forget their extensive and over-the-top warmup routine to Macklemore’s “Downtown” enthusiastically led by Coach Candelaria! Point is that behind their eliteness is a fun group of dancers who love what they do. I knew I was sitting among greatness, but I also felt like I was hanging with a typical Friday night dance team. Love that duality!