One of the biggest competitions for Red and Black every year is the dance competition, and one team has been taking the win for almost a decade: the Black Dance Team (BDT). Co-captain and senior Abbie Davis said, “I do not intend on letting that streak die this year, and I cannot wait to see our legacy continue.”

After Friday’s Gym Night, Abbie and her team were excited to celebrate their ninth victory and ensure their legacy was continued.

Abbie said, “It was honestly really surprising, our win. Nobody roots for the team that wins every year, and every year it gets much harder to win because we are now only one win away from a decade of straight BDT winning. Watching RDT perform, I was nervous, but I knew that our team has put in countless hours and can pull through in that moment, and they did. The best part of the whole performance was when we did the kick line, because it was not a requirement anymore, but we knew that the audience loved it and it would help our dance. Seeing the entire Red team drop their faces collectively as the stands roared from behind was exhilarating. I could not be more honored to lead the team with [senior Nathan Kephart, junior Anne Costello and junior Sofia Colibraro] for two years.”

The burning question on the table before Gym Night: what is the key to winning? According to Abbie, it’s not just dance ability that helps BDT win. She said, “to be honest, the Red team has more competitive dancers than Black,” but most important is “a bond unlike any other team that aims for entertainment.”

Red Dance Team (RDT) members like sophomore Izzy Shotel can definitely vouch for the importance of team atmosphere. Izzy explained how the dance team has been an amazing addition to her school experience. She said, “One of the best parts about being on the team is the memories. I love meeting new people and gaining more experience to carry with me. I also love working towards a goal and performing in front of people.” 

Izzy also emphasized RDT being hard-working and competitive. She said, “When I’m not dancing for Red and Black, I dance twelve hours a week.”  Her commitment to the team has brought out her competitive side.

“I am very competitive as a person. I have worked so hard these past two months to learn a very good dance which I would like to win with.” 

BDT member and sophomore Avery Daniels could not agree more with the team bond. She said, “I do not do dance outside of school, but the dance team allows me to have another community or family in the school environment. I think BDT won the last eight years because of this tight bond that BDT has formed over the years.”

So this year, BDT planned to use this strong bond to wow the judges once more. Abbie explained that each team is fairly judged because “we are provided a rubric so we know exactly how the dance is being scored, but we do not know who judges us so it can not sway any decision. We also know that the judges and the people watching are not dancers critiquing our literal moves, but it is more about the fun and entertainment so Black team always focuses on how the people will feel watching the dance.”

The fun even starts at tryouts. Avery said, “During the first day of tryouts, you learn one dance from the actual dance program for Red and Black night. The second day of tryouts, you perform it in front of the Black team captains. It can be a little nerve wracking, but overall it is pretty fun.”  

Junior Isabella DeSousa said that she and her friend “went to the first day of tryouts to learn the dance as a joke, because we are very bad dancers and didn’t even come back the second day, but it was still just fun.” 

On the other side of the aisle, after eight years of consecutive losses for the Red Dance Team, members and captains of the team are determined to bring a win for the Red team. Their determination has been tested for many years, but it has never stopped them from giving it their all in the competition.

Junior Enaiya Smith explained that “obviously they have won for a very long time. It’s become very competitive, which can be hard when you’re friends with people on the other team and you dance with people on the other team. But at the end of the day, everyone wants to win. You’ve got to bring your A-game.”

For Enaiya, obtaining the role of captain was a year-long process, “We did a team vote last year. The captain’s last year chose me to take Taylor Wall’s spot as a junior captain.”

Being a captain came with the ability to make her ideas come to life. Enaiya explained how she “likes choreographing, being able to make visions and ideas in my head come to life and leading my team, who I love.”

Leading up to Gym Night, Enaiya’s schedule revolved around the team. “We had our parents’ night, when our parents came to watch. We gave them a show that wasn’t judged. After, we had our sleepover.”

Tryouts were handled differently than the Black team’s.

Izzy said, “The process for tryouts was about two hours and fifteen minutes. The first two hours were for learning the tryout dance and practicing it in groups. The fifteen minutes was the following day and that was for the actual tryouts.” After tryouts, anticipation grew until Izzy “found out that [she] made the team through email.” 

Senior and RDT member Talia Newman said, “Despite the loss, I wouldn’t change anything. I had a great time being on RDT and I’m excited to watch RDT do amazing things next year.”

Enaiya said, “I’m so excited for next year. I know we’re going to do great and I can’t wait to work with next year’s captains. We work so hard every year and I hope that this is acknowledged with a win next year.”