The Powell High School Dance Team
By Aiesha Patel & Ava Stooksbury
The PHS Dance Team
The PHSDT has 9 dancers: Leah G. (Senior & Team Captain), Ella S. (Senior), Brooke N. (Junior & Co Captian), Jamice W. (Junior & Co-Captain), Aiesha P. (Junior), Mia M. (Junior), Emma D. (Sophmore), Carlee N. (Freshman), and Ava S. (Freshman), 1 coach: Sydney Clark, and 1 team manager: Addison F. (Freshman). As a team, we have fun times together such as fundraising and team bonding. Our practices are held on Mondays and Wednesdays, and Fridays are game days. During the week we prepare for games by learning new dances such as Hip Hop and Pom.
A Day in the
Life of a
Dancer on
Game Day
As a dancer on the Powell High School Dance Team game day is always fast-paced. I wake up around 6:20 to get my hair and makeup ready by 7:30. I leave my house and we are set to be at the school at 7:45. When I get there, I join the rest of the team outside the front doors to warm up and practice some of the sidelines we have to do for the pep rally. After the band plays for about 10 to 15 minutes outside we all rush to create a tunnel for all the football players to walk through.
After we finish dancing inside we are dismissed to go to class and carry on our normal school day. But when the day is over we carpool to somebody's house who usually has a snack or some food for the team. After we eat we freshen our makeup and change our hair to however our choice makes us do it that game. When everyone is ready we leave and get to the football field at about 6:00 to review our pre-game routine to get all the bumps out of it. 6:30 or 6:40 is the time we perform, but we never really know until they call out our team. After we perform we line up to do the national anthem, and then directly after that, we get ready to run out with the cheerleaders and the football team. This moment is the most stressful part of the night if you ask me. When we line up behind the cheerleaders there’s always a freshman in the back who has to run the fastest. When you hear the band start to play Rocky Top you know it's time. Right after running we line back up and start doing sideline routines for the rest of the game. When the game ends we usually go eat, most of the time at Waffle House, and sometimes I have a few of the girls come to stay the night with me after the game. Game day is always a hectic day, but there’s nothing else like it.