Sharp, swift movements go along to the beat of the music, heartbeats matching the bass. The sound and vibe connect to every part of your body, controlling the way you move. Intricate techniques make each step move the floor. “Boom. Boom. Boom.” Tricks and turns, jumps and flips. Each person gets lost in the moment of dance. This 2015-2016 school year, Miami High has decided to start “Dancing with Style.”

We’ve all seen our talented Majorettes, Stingarettes, and cheerleaders dancing and bringing spirit at pep rallies and football games. This year, a new group of dancers, “Dancing with Style”, has been added to our spirit list.

Sophomore Jenna Turner, the creator of this new dance team, has been dancing since she was 6—watching dance movies that inspired her to later learn ballet and hip hop. With her many years of dancing experience, she decided she wanted to start a dance team here in MHS. “Miami high’s dance groups always do the same thing,” Jenna explained “I just want to bring something that was going to be totally different.”

Medical skills teacher Ms. Turner, who is Jenna’s mother, is the faculty sponsor for Dancing with Style. The 17 members of the dance team are led by Jenna herself, Captain senior Janet Rivas, and Co-Captain sophomore Dejanique Allensworth.

Risk it for the dance

Getting onto a team is never easy. Dancing with Style invited everyone and anyone, no matter gender, to come and audition. With a chance to express their passion for dance, 22 Stingarees took the chance to audition after school on September 16^th in the school’s theatre. To audition, their performance had be at least a minute long. They could choose any style of dance they preferred. Those chosen for the second round were taught a whole new routine from a choreographer that came in. This was done to test how well they can memorize and do a taught routine.

Rose McDonald, a senior and a former Majorette, decided to try out after hearing about the team from Ms. Turner herself. Rose did her audition with Majorette captain and senior Gabriela Rodriguez. Full of technique, she performed a “jazzy” routine, since it was something she was more comfortable with.

“Our routine was about 50 seconds long to the song ‘A Little Part Never Killed Nobody’ by Fergie’,” she explained, adding she had only practiced the day before because she was busy with sports. Rose was chosen to be on the team.

Senior Luz Cuero auditioned for the simple love she has for dance. “Anything that has to do with dancing, I’ll join,” she said. In a group of three, she did a ballet/hip hop routine to the song ‘Chandelier’ by Sia, ‘Chains’ by Nick Jonas, and ‘Right Now’ by Akon. It was a minute and thirty-six seconds long. She made the team.

Jenna Turner decided to audition with a minute-long routine to the ‘7/11’ song by Beyoncé. “It took me about two weeks to perfect the whole choreography,” she said.

A growing passion

   A passion for dance can never be taught. Luz has been dancing since she was 11 years old learning hip hop. She liked it so much, that it led her to learn ballet, merengue, bachata, and salsa.

Rose McDonald, since her freshman year, always wanted to be part of a dance team. She first joined the Majorette team her at MHS. Once it was announced that a new team was rising up, she immediately wanted to join. Before that, she had danced for a year and a half doing dances like Zumba, contemporary ballet, and hip hop. In Color Guard, her instructor Jamyil Sayih would push them to do dance classes for practice.

Sophomore Dejanique Allensworth has been dancing since she was 5, doing ballet and hip hop. Her talent and 10 years of experience helped her in getting the co-captain position.

Dancing their way up

This up and coming dance team has a lot of work to do to reach the goal that they want. Beside everyone’s wishes to enjoy their year(s) on this new team, creator Jenna Turner hopes to soon start performing in pep rallies and football games, just like the MHS dancers. Not only that, she also hopes the team grows enough to eventually start competing against other schools.

Rose McDonald shares the same wish of competing. “I hope to make the most of it during my senior year,” she says. “I hope the team continues to grow in order to qualify for competitions.”

Co-captain Dejanique hopes the dance team will add culture and offer extra excitement to the school and its spirit. “Personally, I will bring my passion and dedication to make it one of the best dance teams Miami High has ever seen,” she said.