Stereotypes are inescapable in our society today, but they are everywhere, especially ones that revolve around the Rocklin High School Dance Team. The dance team performs at every football game, rally, and basketball game which makes it easy for people to create false assumptions based on what they see from a two-minute routine. Some common ideas that people get are that everyone on the dance team has to look a certain way, the dance team can be very clicky, or that they only do it for the title. None of these judgments have any truth behind them. Taitem Allen, one of the dance team captains, denounces that you have to look a certain way to be on the team, “as long as you’re a good dancer, good spirited, team mind centered, like to dance, have fun, and be friends with everyone, then you can make the team super easily.” In response to the stereotype that the dance team is one big clique Avery Peaslee, a junior on the dance team, says, “I think that the team in general has such a close bond and connection with one another.” The relationships built through the dance team can be easily misunderstood from the outside perspective, Alyssa Bond, a junior on the dance team says, “we get to know each and every person on the team and we really just hang out even when we don’t have practice like free time, we’re always with each other.” Bond also comments on the idea that dance team members only do it for the title, “it’s just an environment where all of us really love to dance. And it’s a really important place for us, it’s more than a title.”

As much as the dance team is extremely fun, it can also be extremely stressful. “Dance is a very committed and dedicated team sport. We practice for many hours a week doing our morning practices, [at] six or seven AM, and our afternoon practices after school,” says Avery Peaslee. Trying to balance dance team practice, studio dance, homework, and having multiple performances a week is when the stress can become a lot to handle. “Our coaches really make sure that we have enough resources to keep growing academically,” says Avery Peaslee. Some things that the coaches have come up with to help the Dance team members include a study hall where they do homework together after practice and journaling as a team. Taitem Allen says, “Journaling helps us connect our inner thoughts to dance and just be more organized with our schedule.”
Taking on the role as one of the three dance team captains has been a lot of responsibility for Taitem Allen. Things are a lot different from the previous years, she now has to be, “responsible for really knowing the team and where [they] sit like on game days.” Not only that but also, “knowing what’s going on in school and home lives and stuff like that. So really, we have a lot of responsibility to make sure we understand our team.”

Everyone’s experience differs from person to person, but regarding the dance team, Bond had a much different experience than the rest of the girls. During her freshman year she would stand on the sides to watch the team perform, desperately wanting so badly to be out there with them. She says, “ I definitely see the value in it a little bit more from standing on the sides…and so now that I’m on it, it’s so much easier for me to not take it for granted and to be grateful for every single second of it.” Bond also states that, “it is something that [she] always wanted to be out there and doing what [she] always wanted, helped [her] realize that [she] met [her] goal.”

There are many reasons for “why” all these girls are on the dance team. To Avery Peaslee, the best thing about the dance team is, “the opportunities within it to participate in our school, our community, and overall just building new connections with new people.” Similarly to Peaslee, Allen says, “What makes it worth it for me is the experience of it, the bonds you make with your teammates, and being able to represent the school in such a positive way. Just being known in the community and having a connection to the school is the best.” Bond’s Favorite part of being on the dance team is, “the feeling of performing with the crowd going crazy and like the nostalgic feeling of just being in high school. It’s just so worth it because I know when I look back it’s going to be remembered as such a meaningful experience.”