This year, the sophomore girls on the varsity dance team have taken a larger leadership role after the senior’s graduation. The six sophomores are now the oldest girls on the team, as no juniors participate.  

Dance team coach Melanie Joy-Barber was new to the team this year and believes that the transition from senior leadership to all-sophomore captains and members has been very smooth. 

“I think it’s been amazing. The vibe is a little more calm since there was a lot of stuff going on,” Barber said. “Now that it’s a little tighter and the sophomores, especially the captains, are very focused, it’s made the rehearsal process so much smoother.”

Dance team captain Kayla Liss thinks that the transition was somewhat harder for her as a captain, since she had to strike a balance between stepping up as a leader and being friends with the other sophomores.

“I think it was a little bit hard because we had to work out a new structure of doing things because we are all friends and all have worked together in the past,” Liss said. “We had to figure out a new structure to make sure everyone had opportunities and that nobody was getting their feelings hurt.” 

However, Liss believes that the friendship between her and the other dance team members also makes the team better as a whole.

“It’s a really great group of girls and we all work together really well so we get things done, which is fun because we are all in the same grade, so it means that everyone gets to have a leadership role and have a say in what happens,” Liss said.

Dance team member Naomi Gould said that by sharing her love of dance with other members and captains, they have all gained a new level of respect for each other.

“I already have a lot of respect for them because I know them so well, so it has fostered a great environment for us to get closer with each other and improve on our own dance abilities,” Gould said. “I think everyone is really excited for the next few years together on [the] dance team, and we all have similar goals on how we want the dance team to expand and thrive in the next few years.”