Faith Lenhart, the Dance/Fine Arts Department Chair at VHHS in Alabama, believes that their teams provide more than just the traditional dance team activities. The teams realize that it takes everyone to make a successful team and they work hard to allow all of the dancers and teachers to have input. In fact, VHHS strives to encourage student choreography and a large percentage of their performances include that student choreography. While most programs end when the dance team season is over, VHHS goes into “dance class mode” and everyone prepares their own work for their spring show. The JV and Varsity teams perform two dances together per year. In reality, they dance from August to May.
Things tend to get a bit stressful when they are getting close to their state or national competition. To keep the girls motivated, Faith tries to include some fun activities, Yoga and the parents bring special snacks. Also, the captains do their part to motivate the team They share motivational quotes on posters, text messages and email. Faith said, “I really enjoy watching the dancers take the initiative to motivate each other. They keep their eye on the prize, but realize that the experience and relationships they make is the real gift I love it when a former dancer comes back and shares with the team how much she misses it.’
It is obvious Faith loves being a dance teacher. She says she gets an amazing feeling when a dancer “gets” a skill on which she has been working. She loves it when a student is proud of herself after a performance. After placing second at NDA National last year , an excited student told her she had felt “prepared.” Faith told me, “That is huge. They don’t always understand the effort and time it takes to time rehearsals just right or know when to slow down. My job as their coach is to prepare them for performance. When a dancer says – we were prepared- I know I have been successful even if we do not win. “
When it comes to competitions, there are two things that Faith feels strongly about.
One, dancers should
Second, they should give 110% on stage
andin class. If a dancer does not give 110% in class, the performance can be unpredictable and usually does not project well.
work to make the movements look fun and effortless.
When it comes to dance clothing, Faith looks for clothing that is comfortable, the dancers feel good in and is reasonably priced.
She likes outfits that are black, fitted and made of cotton.
She also wants options for girls that are body conscious.
Also, she sticks to a strict budget.
Since the families already pay a lot, it is important to keep the price down when it comes to costumes and
dancewear.
Their main goal for this year is to win at State and Nationals. Faith stated, “Many little goals will lead us to the overall goal.” Her personal goal is to make sure that they stick to whatever schedule she plans. She wants to include cardio and conditioning but as the team get closer to competition; those things are put aside so that they can concentrate on the dancing. This year, she hopes to stick to her plan to include those elements in rehearsals no matter what.
By Cyndi Marziani
Owner
Bailar Dancewear
