As many sports begin to wind down, the dance team is just getting started with their 2017-2018 team. The varsity and junior varsity teams are back for another season and are striving for bigger and better goals.

With the recent tryouts, the varsity team has welcomed three new freshmen members to the dance program. These try-outs lasted three days and included the dancers showing off their technique and their ability to learn a dance quickly.

“I have really high hopes for this season,” coach Katie Droope said. “I feel like we set a very good base and foundation last year and our goal for this year is to just continue to improve and never settle for less than our best.”

Now that the team has been assembled, Droope and her team are putting in their hard work to choreograph a competition ready dance before they go to the Universal Dance Association (UDA) camp at Oakland University. This dance will be performed in front of judges with the hopes of winning a bid to the national championships in Orlando, Florida next February.

“I’m very excited for camp because it’s the best time for team bonding,” sophomore Julia Meguid said. “I’m also excited that we are competing a dance at camp so we can win a bid to nationals.”

UDA camp is the summer event for dance teams all across Michigan. This is a four-day intensive where the team will participate in many different events including team bonding, spirit night, and learning new dances they will perform at football and basketball games throughout the year.

“I’m most looking forward to learning all of the routines,” Meguid said. “They’re always so much fun to learn and perform.”

Although the varsity team is already working on their first routine, the junior varsity team is also back with a brand new team and coach. The team had re-tryouts on May 31, however, results weren’t available at the time of publication.