Eastlake dancers get their groove on
February 10, 2009
By Christopher Huber
Team gets top score in invitational
The Eastlake High School dance team opened the competition, performing a Brittany Spears “old-school” medley in the pom category. Photo by Christopher Huber
Before the Eastlake High School dance team opened its annual dance invitational Feb. 7, dozens of rosy-cheeked high school dancers from around Western Washington scampered around the school, antsy for the competition to begin.
Parents and siblings found their seats, while some bought flowers and “shout-outs” from a booth right outside the gym entrance.
Dancers and parent volunteers had spent hours decorating the halls in a Valentine’s Day theme.
The Lady Wolves started the day off strutting and high-kicking to a Brittany Spears “old-school” medley, wowing the crowd from the get-go in the pom category. It was the girls’ first time performing the two-minute routine.
“We did pretty good for our first time,” said Eastlake senior and team officer Rachael Woods after the opener. “I think I showed a lot of showmanship.”
Thirty-four teams came to Eastlake to compete in six dance categories — pom, dance, kick, drill, hip-hop and production.
They were all vying for a chance to compete in the state tournament March 28 in Yakima.
Eastlake ultimately won the pom and dance categories, but, being the host team, it did not receive the respective trophies.
The trophy for pom went to Issaquah.
Kamiak High School earned the trophy in dance.
Eastlake scored an “excellent” rating in each performance and remains undefeated through three meets.
“For both (categories) they’re right where they need to be to get really good scores at the state level,” Eastlake coach Corinne Immel said.
In the 2008 state championship, the Lady Wolves placed second in the dance category and fifth in pom.
The annual event provides much of the team’s funding, Immel said and takes months to organize.
The school has been hosting the competition, usually in January, since 1994.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s a good fundraiser for our boosters,” Immel said.
Immel praised the team parents for their contributions to the event and the season as a whole.
They ran the raffle and admission booths, as well as helped organize the competition from the beginning — they started planning in October.
“We have absolutely fantastic parents,” Immel said. “I couldn’t have asked for better parents.”
Parent Margie Teman, who spent the day selling flowers and “shout-outs” for dancers and coaches said the dance team, though rigorous and time-consuming, gives her daughter a sense of belonging.
“As a new sophomore, it gave her a group where she belonged … because they trained all summer,” Teman said.
The Eastlake dance team will participate in one more competition at Cedarcrest High School before hosting the District 2 Championships March 7.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.
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