Seen At The Wheaton North Comp…
GOOD TO BE BACK, PART 2
+ As I mentioned in my Andrew post, this is the first year where I didn’t have to pick between the Andrew and Wheaton North comps for Comp Weekend 1. I’ve always thought of Wheaton North as my home comp (though this year I have a true home comp at Glenbard South in December), being so close to 8CA headquarters.
+ I love this old gym. Wheaton North comps used to be in January back in the IDTA days. My first as a spectator (with dance team music clients) was in 2003, and I actually DJ’d this comp on Superbowl Sunday in 2005! And before that, I loved watching DVC basketball games here in high school. I called a few basketball games for our college radio station here, too.
+ I want to thank Coach Alex Kirby and the other Falconettes coaches, dancers, and volunteers for such a smooth-running comp. I also appreciate her and DJ Mark’s heads up that awards were about to start after the final chorus of Bieber’s “Baby,” so I’d be ready to start the livestream! I mean at that point I could have definitely missed hitting the “live” button due to being so into that song and also the Lyons Township dancers’ epic moves.
FAN FASHION
+ I somehow often end up sitting near the always-friendly, always-upbeat Geneva fans. Some of the dads had their signature blue and white striped overalls on. Gotta applaud their dedication! Speaking of team spiritwear, one of the Geneva moms had on a jacket that read on the back, “Geneva Pom Pons.” I complimented her on what was obviously an awesome historical relic, and she explained it was hers from when she was on the team in the late ‘80s!
+ And if you’ve been following the 8CA Podcast (wonderfully co-hosted by Coach Paige Hollendonner), we’ve been doing an A-to-Z review of dance team nicknames. The archaic term “pom PONS” has come up—and, like every other serious scientific / historical topic, “more research is needed.”
+ Handling the DJ duties was our old friend Mark the DJ! As mentioned in our podcast interview with him last winter, I remember seeing him DJ the Wheaton North comp back in the late 2000s (probably right after I gave up that gig, LOL). Like last year, he ably handled the $1 team shoutout messages. Props to everyone who bought one and who wrote legibly!
+ If you looked at our “New Dance Fan Starter Pack” post you saw that there’s always a risk of some confusion when looking at the signage outside the gym as to which side to sit on. The Wheaton North volunteers made things crystal clear with their spiffy display:
+ The lineup was just a bit longer than yesterday’s at Andrew, so it fit perfectly into my program of building up bleacher endurance! Plus we’d get to leave around 1:15…just in time to catch the rest of a Bears game that, it turns out, we didn’t need to see.
+ Here’s how a double-sided schedule looks in terms of the flow, in case you’re a rookie spectator. Unlike single-sided formats (like yesterday at Andrew), routines take turns facing one side of the gym or the other, with two judge panels watching their respective block of routines. So for me, that meant some pretty quick typing / exporting / posting to Instagram stories! Coulda been a typo here and there, but so far, no DMs pointing out that I used team X’s picture for team Y’s comment post (it happens).
NOTES, NUGGETS, IMPRESSIONS
+ (for specifics be sure to check out our dance-by-dance story posts, archived in Insta highlights)
+ I kind of like the old-school look of the Wheaton North placement trophies:
+ Ironically, the trophy case featured some of those beautiful Team Dance Illinois (TDI) state trophies from the late 2000s and early 2010s. During the break, I posted a quick video about the best-looking dance trophies ever in Illinois Dance. Seriously, check your trophy case—you might have category trophies from TDI, or at least normal weekly TDI comp hardware. As I said in the video, “Those were good times in Illinois Dance.”
+ OK, props to Lyons Township for fielding HUGE ROSTERS for both varsity and JV. The IHSA era is one of shrinking floor rosters with like half the team sitting out as alternates. Not LT — they fill the floor and there are no weak links, skills-wise.
+ DeKalb has just a handful of dancers this year but they maximize the look. I just love their spark—they perform with the confidence of a much bigger team.
+ Speaking of spark, there’s some electricity in the air with a new look for the Glenbard West program. I’d keep an eye on this group.
+ Also with a bit of new look and sound is perennial 8CA faves St Charles North. As always, they’ve got a killer JV program, too.
+ I’ve loved watching Streamwood take on different dance styles over the past few seasons—this time I got to see their hip hop flavor. I’m a permanent Sabrettes supporter, going back to the days when I was their music editor (’02-’03 season).
+ Not afraid to master multiple styles, Batavia had a definite presence. But there’s something about their current pom work that has a little extra bite. I love that they can thrive in both that style and in lyrical.
+ I mean, they’re everything I hoped for — the Barrington Bronchettes are early 3A faves based on what they did on this floor. They’ve made this floor their playground for the past few Novembers as they debut routines that eventually wind up on Day 2 of IHSA state.
+ The team with a surplus of magnetism: IC Catholic. I think we often think of “visuals” as a pom or hip hop thing, like with formations. But these dancers reminded me that amazing visuals also come from faces and body tone / placement.
+ Coach Paige at Benet said on the podcast that they just wanted to floor the routine and see what needs to be further tweaked. They’ve got a nice foundation to move forward with. Whatever song they picked to play on their big speaker as they enter the school seems to be working!
+ Here’s a very 8CA term: song section musicality. So often we get caught up in thinking about musicality as the right skill or expression to go with a particular sound or lyric in the song. Glenbard North’s dancers, though, made sure to match their delivery (and choreo, of course) with the different textures of each song section.
+ This is probably a new height for the IMSA program. Their performances definitely got my attention.
+ Putting aside their technical prowess and magnetic on-floor charisma—I just love the vibe of the entire Geneva program. Just radiating happiness and warmth. Without a doubt they were everyone’s faves on Sunday.
+ I really loved what Glenbard South did in both their dances. There’s a definite polish to their work that’s become a team trademark. Their floor presence and command is a THING and definitely contributed to a tight 1A points battle on Sunday.
+ Speaking of 1A—wow, St. Francis with the hot start! Last winter they turned it up, nibbling at something big. Now it’s time to eat.
+ So often we see pom as “routine 1” for teams that bring 2 (where the common impression is that routine 2 is the “serious” dance and routine 1 is “for fun”). Not for Waubonsie pom. High and matched tilts, a triple with a strong landing—good stuff.
+ One of the most expressive, musical pieces was the 2nd dance by Naperville North. They’ve as technically adept as ever but it looks like they’ve turned up the storytelling and expression.
+ The team that was most connected with their song? Palatine. I’ve seen this program do a good job with several dance styles but they’re a way solid lyrical/contemporary team, too.
+ Fun musicality nuggets, athletic partner work—feeling a good season coming on for Lisle. Looked pretty vibrant out there.
+ Well I didn’t see THAT song coming. (Well, I did “hear” it coming during music check, but you know what I mean). I’m always a fan of the unexpected song choice. “What’s Up” was one of the quirkiest and biggest hits of the spring of 1993—a unique lead singer, and just that hippie vibe going on. The team gets it; used the best of the song’s musicality moments. AND—super interesting to see their first dance—pom, but not “uniformed” (like they’ve done in recent seasons).
+ Gotta love the dedication: I saw at least a couple non-competing teams in the bleachers as spectators. Scouting, sure…but honestly also legit fans of the teams performing at Wheaton North. I’ve always said that even just Geneva and Barrington are well worth the $10 admission cost.
+ How about those two exhibition routines? The crowd adored the Superstars Dance Team who did an amazing job to cap off the day’s routines. Lovv The Dance Studio out of Wheaton (they’ve danced at our 8CA All-State event for the past two years) also captivated the audience before the break. Studio owner Aretese Low tells me these are her 7th/8th graders who are slated to bring their talents to local high school teams in the next couple years.
+ I missed this during the offseason:
+ For more stellar pre-awards dancing, especially by Lyons Township, check out our Insta reel!