The LSE Cheer and Dance teams competed in the Nebraska Coaches Association (NCA) State Championships on Feb. 15-17. The competition team for cheer placed 6th in the Class A Traditional Performance category, and the Shirettes dance team placed 5th in the Class A High Kick category and 10th in the Class A Pom category.
The LSE Cheer team had tryouts earlier this year for their competition team, which is separate from the three regular teams. Varsity cheer coach Sasha Hoxie, says that members from any of the squads can try out. Later this year they start their competition process, which includes practicing every week at Cheer Xpress and Southeast and working with a choreographer to learn a routine.
“[We start with] a cheer and then it transitions into a dance routine. We learned that in the fall and then our competition team will have separate practices from the rest of the cheer team, and we’ll focus just on our competition routine,” Hoxie said.
According to Jessica Bui, the other varsity cheer coach, the cheerleaders are graded on appearance as well as performance. Members have to do hair and makeup, and stay calm under the pressure.
“[We run] through the routine multiple times just so [they] know that when [they’re] on the mats [they] are confident [they’re] like, ‘we’ve done this a million times.’ So it’s just going to be a lot of heart to heart, a lot of practicing and just mentally preparing,” Bui said.
The competition also includes dance teams. The Southeast Shirettes will be performing in the competition as well. The team practices 4-5 days a week year round from 6 to 7:30 a.m. Shirette coach Tristen Metcalf says that the team is adding some new tricks to their routine this year.
“Newer to this year is our change in the style of our kick routine. Our kick routines have normally been upbeat and visually looked more like a pom routine. This year, we switched it up for a more stylistic routine and the team has the challenge of creating and sharing a storyline with the audience,” Metcalf said.
The team practices a lot at school for their performances at school events such as pep rallies and football games. However, they also have to dedicate a lot of time outside of school to practice for the competition. They practice at dance studios because they have mirrors and proper floors, which helps them have a more uniform routine. Metcalf says that she really pushes a positive mindset for her dancers, and tries to have team bondings often.
Dance and cheer are often taken for granted because they are only ever seen by students performing at games and pep rallies, but they do so much more. They put in long hours before and after school to create polished routines that are only a couple of minutes long, but there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes.
“I think dance is often overlooked as a fun added performance for the crowd. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears goes into making each short routine as close to perfection as humanly possible. I am incredibly proud of my teams throughout my time as the Shirettes coach for all of the passion they pour into each and every dance,” Metcalf said.
