Team Feature: Batavia

by Norm Ramil, 8 Count Audio chief.music.officer & dance.fan

Three walls of Batavia’s in-school dance studio are mirrored. The back wall has its own important role: showing off the program’s achievements through the years. These days, shelves hold up the trophies that were once lifted by past dancers of the Batavia Dance Team.

“The girls are obsessed with fuzzy socks,” JV Coach Susan Fricke tells me. A trophy from her own days on this team probably sits on a shelf on that back wall, won at some competition in the dead of winter, when fuzzy socks definitely come in handy.

No fuzzy accessories needed today. It’s mid-morning on a Wednesday in June, and Batavia’s varsity fills most of the open space of their dance room. It’s an upgrade from the concrete floors of the atrium where the team used to practice back in the day, something that their JV coach remembers vividly as a dancer on this team. Then came the extensive renovations to the building, proudly on display for teams and spectators who’ve attended Batavia’s dance invitational for the past few years.

Their room seems almost cozy with 21 dancers in full formation. Actually, one of the captains–Courtney–runs the music as she sits out with an injury. Assistant Varsity Coach Amy Carron leads the clean-up comments after the girls run through each set of 8-counts, while her adorable toddler (dressed for practice in her tutu) roams around the front of the room.

The rest of varsity is on the floor perfecting their home jazz routine for camp, led by nine seniors and eight juniors. Two sophomores and two freshmen round out the team roster, with 12 of the 21 girls returning from last year’s varsity team. Seven of the new girls were on JV last year, and two are completely new to the program.

I carve out a nook in the corner to stay out of the way—these girls seem to do everything full-out even when they’re not, and I figure it’s not impossible that a pointed toe on a powerful turn might get me. Despite a well-equipped dance studio, next to me is a humble cardboard box full of practice poms. On the other side of the door behind me is JV, working on their own choreography before their own practice coming up next.

“The team particularly prides itself on its technical abilities and prefers to showcase its technical training in jazz and lyrical dances,” says JV Coach Fricke, but they’re also capable of exciting pom routines, too. This season, they’re out to design “dynamic and moving” competitive dances that highlight the team’s extensive technique and skills.

Being sharp technically demands a ton of attention to detail, and I witness this as the coaches spend a few seconds elaborating on a single count (in this case, the consequences and differences between “4” and “4-AND”). Another moment has them discussing the difference between wanting to be sharp versus starting a movement too early. Later, Varsity Coach Angela Fuqua refines the team’s alignment and jokes about the finer points of a triangle formation.

Coach Fuqua shuffles around some personnel so that I could see the lift in their routine done full-out, which I totally appreciated! Assistant Coach Carron’s daughter adjusts her dance space toward the giant fan blowing from the corner so that Varsity can do a full run-through of their entire home routine. It’s a dance that will later make a comeback during football season.

After a break the girls raid the cardboard box of poms to work on their next routine. Everyone joins in on figuring out some confusing counts at the start of their music. Whenever a girl needs to clarify the awkward counts of the song’s intro, she just has to ask Captain Courtney to hit the music for a second or two. Metaphorical light bulbs brighten above each group as they realize how to count out the tricky intro in this music mix.

But even elite teams need sharpening, and really elite teams are open to sharpening. One focus area during this morning’s pom work is the small detail of keeping their elbows glued for certain pom motions. For Batavia, the difference between sharp and sorta sharp is a big deal, and they’re committed to a high standard of cleaning. Being so focused on technical excellence probably explains why they’re fans of certain teams. “We’re constantly in awe of and amazed by the University of Minnesota dance team,” writes Coach Fricke. Closer to home, Batavia also thinks highly of Neuqua Valley and South Elgin.

As I watch practice this morning, one incredible fact strikes me right away: for every correction or critique offered by a coach or even a teammate, the girls say, “Thank you.” Sure, this is standard etiquette in some dance studios, but these girls don’t miss a single opportunity to show gratitude (just imagine thanking your algebra teacher for each wrong answer on your next test). And when a coach calls out a dancer for doing something awesome, the whole team takes a moment to clap in appreciation.

To be a part of this supportive atmosphere means getting through tryouts in the spring. The lengthy list of required skills includes: splits (each side and center), leg hold, kick sequence, toe touch, double toe touch, pike jump, c jump, right leap, center leap, capezio, turning disc, double and triple pirouettes, and second turn combinations. And each girl had to show up with one more special skill—maybe acrobatic work, or a complex turn combo or jump.

Without the benefit of dance programs at their middle schools, the girls rely on their years of dancing at several local studios including Moves in North Aurora, Sole Unique Dance Complex in Aurora, Batavia Academy of Dance, and Elite Academy of Dance in South Elgin, plus their local park districts. The team benefits from this diversity of backgrounds, training, and technique, though the JV coach adds that it’s up to her to hammer out “a uniformity of style for the team.” Most of the team members stay active at their studios by studying ballet, lyrical, jazz, hip hop, stretching and strength training, and even tumbling.

The Batavia Dance Team keeps an uptempo schedule over the summer. Besides practices, the girls stay busy giving back to the community. The team participates in Relay For Life, collects food and household items for the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry, and helps the park district by running a Little Pom Camp attended by over 120 local children.

Don’t worry—the team knows how to chill, too. Varsity and JV take advantage of bonding time with car washes, ice cream socials, team lunches, pool parties, and sleepovers—all on top of preparing and performing at UDA elite dance camp in Iowa. The girls are no strangers to that unique sizzling sound made by fajitas being carried to tables at Chili’s, their fave hangout spot.

Football routines need to be ready for late August, so the team and their coaches devote summer practice time to that as well. The rhythm of Batavia’s practices picks up to 3 (or more) times each week when school starts up in the fall. Stretching, cardio, and strength training kick off each practice, and then the girls move on to learning and cleaning their dances and fine-tuning the choreography.

The girls keep up their service during fall and winter with a Kick-a-thon that raises money for a local cause, plus volunteer work with Feed My Starving Children. Batavia Dance Team also actively supports breast cancer awareness with Pink Night.

I get the sense that these girls come into the program with impressive skills, but given all the service they squeeze into their schedule, they probably exit the program ready to make an impact beyond dance. Some of them do keep their jazz shoes handy after graduating. Batavia dancers have moved on to the competition teams at ISU and Western Illinois, and former captain Christy Scimeca recently made the top 10 in the Miss Iowa pageant. Her talent? If you can’t guess, you’re probably reading the wrong blog!

A couple minutes chatting with Coach Fuqua after practice reveals a youthful spark that perfectly pairs with a seasoned, veteran dance mind. She totally gets all the big, abstract issues facing dance teams in today’s crazy climate, all while deftly handling all the little details that go into running a high-profile dance program. Batavia’s got a steady yet dynamic coach in their driver’s seat.

I head back there a few days later with a really dirty car from our roadtrip to the St. Louis area. The team’s running their car wash on a gorgeous Saturday morning in the school parking lot, and I gotta give credit to JV for somehow getting all the grime off of my car. The scene is a reminder that this is a dance team family: alums are on the coaching staff, a coach’s parents are helping out, dads are drying the cars and moms keep the whole thing organized (and JV fed).

When you see Batavia Dance Team on the competition floor, you just know they’re an elite team. And when you catch them over a couple days during their busy summer, you start to see all the work that goes into being one of the biggest names in Illinois dance through the years.