After years of other schools starting a dance team, Colonia High School (CHS) finally decided that it’s time. After auditions in the summer, a team of 14 was compiled by Mrs. Kristen Ruta, Dance Teacher at CHS.
The Team
There are a total of 14 dancers on the dance team. The captains of the team are Senior Emily Cowen, Senior Vanessa DeJesus, Junior Anabelle McAloon and Junior Alexa Rocha. There are a total of four juniors on the team which include: Anabelle McAloon, Jillian Maniscalchi, Alexa Rocha and Sofia Fonseca. There are a total of five sophomores on the team which include: Makayla Muniz, Jennie Ramirez, Bella Sperduto, Gabriella Sperduto and Ava Patuto. And finally there are a total of three freshmen on the team which include: Chiara Guerra, Jenna Source and Bella Tavares.
The Coach
Dance Team Coach, Kristin Ruta coached cheerleading for about 10 years at CHS and has always enjoyed coaching, but was taken away by her first love, dance. She is now the coach of the dance team and the dance teacher here at CHS. Mrs. Ruta stated, “Being able to combine both has been a wonderful experience for me. The dancers on this team are so dedicated and have set the bar high for future dance teams at CHS.”
Performing
The Team started by performing at the friday night Colonia home football games. They plan on performing at the basketball games as well. The team will even be competing in two local competitions and also the State Competition as well. These competitions fall over some weekends in January and February.
Necessities
When joining any sort of team, you need to have the ability to work together. But when joining a dance team, you will need to be an extremely talented and technical dancer who knows how to manage their time. In order to keep up with everything such as routines, practices, competitions, etc you need to be a multitasker. This will also help you be able to maintain school and dance without getting too stressed or unorganized.
Inclusivity
Dance should be a safe space for dancers and shouldn’t be a place for judgement. Every member of the Dance Team is open to having boys on the team, but of course like everyone else you will have to try out. Colonia dance team coach, Mrs. Ruta stated, “I would absolutely be open to having boys on the dance team.”
The Dance Team’s Impact
The Dance Team has definitely made the Friday night football games get you hyped up. This team allows students to make friends and meet people at school who share similar interests. It is also a great way for the many students who are talented dancers at CHS to have a team to join. Talented dancers at Colonia High can now continue doing what they love while representing their school.
