This year, competition dance looks a little different than it has in the past. Teams are often made up mostly of seniors and juniors, but HSE dance this year includes seven underclassmen, with five being freshmen and six upperclassmen. While the group is younger than usual, they have stepped into the season ready to contribute. The freshmen bring experience from their time on the junior high dance team or studio competition dance, where they built strong connections before entering high school. That background has helped them adjust to the pace and expectations of varsity dance.
Although this is their first year on the HSE High School team, freshmen Hadley Beall, Faith and Hannah Senger, along with sophomores Ava Swedarsky and Kayla Casey, previously danced together on the junior high team. That experience helped ease their transition into high school dance.
“Being on the Junior High Team in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade helped me build connections with the girls and the coaches,” Swedarsky said. “We are all supportive of each other’s success and want the best for one another.”
The support doesn’t stop with the underclassmen. Upperclassmen have played a key role in helping the younger dancers grow more comfortable in a varsity setting, guiding the junior high dancers through their transition to high school and offering studio dancers Kailey White and Larsen Theophilus advice and encouragement to build their confidence.
“The seniors have helped all of us freshmen so much. They’ve shown us what confidence looks like under pressure,” White said. “Whether it’s calming nerves before we go on, giving corrections in a positive way, or just reminding us to breathe and trust ourselves they make it feel less overwhelming.”
In addition to the three group routines, the freshmen are also competing in a junior ensemble. Unlike school performances, ensemble routines are organized outside of HSE dance but are still performed under HSE, which requires dancers to commit extra time to rehearse on their own.
“Our ensemble is something extra all of the freshmen have decided to take on together,” White said. “It’s helping us grow closer and develop strong teamwork early on, which will benefit the team in the years ahead.”
The dance isn’t just something fun they do. It’s a meaningful routine that highlights the experience of facing doubts and learning how to overcome them. That message is powerfully embodied on stage at competitions, where the dancers bring both emotion and strength to their performance.
“The dance is supposed to be about overcoming all the stress and doubt in our minds and just having fun doing what we love,” Theophilus said.
Looking ahead, the team hopes to continue building both skill and character. With a strong foundation of experience, mentorship, and shared commitment, this young varsity team is already proving that leadership and talent aren’t defined by grade level, but by the way a team grows together as one.
“When I think about the future, I just want to make sure I am a person that my future teammates want to talk to and come to,” Theophilus said. “I want our team to overall become the team that people go out of their way to watch, as well as a team who is known for being kind and caring people.”
