February 17, 2018

Jump, kick and smile. While the St. Paul Academy and Summit School dance team mainly performs at competitions on Saturdays, Feb. 16 was an exception. During the Boy’s Varsity Basketball game against St. Agnes, the SPA dance team delivered a quick and lively performance during halftime. They displayed their high kicks with jazz dance intermixed throughout their one-minute show. Although they are not cheerleaders, the student section boosted their Spartan spirit throughout their dance. 

People don’t often realize the time commitment we put in

— sophomore Ellie Hoppe

The dance team is combined with Minnehaha Academy and students from grades 7-12 are able to participate. Since the dance team seldom dances in front of student audiences, many misunderstand what the dance team does.

“A lot of people think we are cheerleaders. We do perform at basketball halftime, but we have our own competitions and we are our own sport. We are not as responsible for getting the crowd pumped up,” sophomore Ellie Hoppe said.

Hoppe joined the dance team when she was in 7th grade and has been fond of the experience ever since. After quitting dance at her old studio, the team at SPA felt like the next step for her. She feels that just as any other sports team, she can count on her teammates to boost her spirits.

“They’re [the SPA Dance team] probably the best part because I know when I have a bad day I can go to dance and they’ll be there and it’ll be fun,” Hoppe said.

Another misconception SPA students have about dance team is that they rarely practice and it’s fairly easy. Yet, just like other sports, the SPA Dance team practices for two hours each day and almost every Saturday they attend competitions, which take up their entire day.

“It’s a lot of hard work. People don’t often realize the time commitment we put in. During competition season our whole entire Saturdays are devoted to dance,” Hoppe said.

From batting freshly made up eyelashes to smiling brightly, the dance team definitely knows how to commit to their performance. Not only do they look effortless while dancing, the crowd likewise felt their energy and culminated in an SPA basketball win with a final score of 62-49.

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