BV dance team small, but strong
By:
Jamie Hult, Staff writer
The Brandon Valley Lynx dance team consists of (front, from L) Haley Stengel, Kayla Wolfe, Emily Cushing, Sarah Berberich, Mackenzie Gundvaldson, Stephanie Kessler; (back, from L) Courtney Moeller, Regan Bly, Kaleesta Waysman, Emily Muhs, Jamie Fick, Emily Wendt. Jill Meier/BV Journal
With eight returning letter winners, the Brandon Valley dance team has the talent and experience to go far in the competition season.
“We have a small team, but we will be strong,” said head coach Tracy Kuhn.
BVDT is coming off a solid season and looking to defend a few titles. Brandon Valley is the reigning champion in the Eastern South Dakota Conference and reigning state champion in the class AA kick division. The team was also runner-up in the 2016 Metro Conference and state runners-up in pom and jazz.
Some of the fiercest competition, Kuhn said, is local.
“All of the Sioux Falls schools have talented dance teams, with Washington always being a strong contender and rival. We love the challenge and competition of the larger schools; it gives us goals to work toward during our season,” she said.
Those goals include winning the ESD and Metro meets and placing among the top three teams at state Oct. 21 in Rapid City.
At state, regional and regular season meets, the Lady Lynx dance team competes in three divisions: pom, jazz and kick.
“Our pom routine is an upbeat, visual routine that will be highly competitive this season,” Kuhn said. “Our jazz routine is more of a lyrical jazz style, to a cover of a well-known song that all will enjoy. It’s a challenging number, and one that will be a work in progress but, once mastered, a beautiful routine with an emotional message.
“Our kick routine is very different from our normal, upbeat, sassy style in the past. We’re excited to show something new.”
Team captains are senior Hailey Stengel and junior Emily Cushing. Both girls have been on the team since they were freshmen.
“We lost four seniors, all who were an important part of our team in different ways. We gained four new team members and have great talent again this season,” said Kuhn, who has headed Brandon Valley’s competitive dance team 13 years.
Competition kicks off at 5 p.m. Aug. 29 in Watertown. The BVDT hosts the Brandon Valley Invitational on Oct. 3 at 5:30 p.m. State competition is Oct. 20-21 in Rapid City.
