As the student body made their return from winter break, winter sports continued to move along with their games and practices. Among the sports, the JV and varsity dance teams started off the new 2022 school year by hosting a conference meet at Glenbard South for the very first time.

The Upstate 8 Dance Conference allowed for Glenbard South to compete against larger and higher division schools that normally aren’t part of their conference. The special conference consisted of eight varsity teams, along with seven total JV teams which ended up running from 4:30pm to announcing awards at 8:30pm on January 5th.

The head dance coach, Haley Kruis, stated that the varsity team performed a lyrical routine and a contemporary routine, both lasting about 2:00 minutes, which consisted of turns, jumps, lifts and much more. Coach Megan Winebrenner, and Kruis mentioned that both dance teams perform the same routines throughout the season, making sure to clean up the dances after every meet’s feedback and performance. During this conference, Coach Kruis mentioned that the teams only had minor mistakes which would have only been evident if you had known the whole routine beforehand.

Even though the teams felt a bit anxious during the setup, before the start of the conference, they were able to keep positive vibes throughout the whole night.

“A sense of calm that made all of the nerves go away” was how Coach Krius described the moment when the whole team was finally able to hit the warm up room after a long and chaotic day. By the end of the night, the eight JV members placed 2nd while the twelve varsity members finished in 3rd!

All the dancers’ hard work was shown by the end of the conference as they received their well deserved awards. Coach Winebrenner mentioned that the season wouldn’t have been the same without their captains, Kiera Salt and Taylor Tricroce, as they are “natural leaders as well as incredibly smart dancers”. Krius wanted to give a huge shout out to the seniors, “who were amazing leaders throughout the season. They have set such a great example for their teammates and have made a huge impact on our program. They are truly irreplaceable.” Kruis also recognized that South Elgin and Bartlett have been teams who are always hard to beat but their clean and beautiful performances have allowed the teams to reflect and learn for their future dances during the rest of their season.