Starting in July, the Ames High dance team begins to piece together three routines for competition over the course of multiple days a week. During this time they are focused on perfecting their leaping, turning, and movement skills. However, throughout these countless hours they aren’t just focusing on their dancing skills, they also have to work together to create a strong team in order to be cohesive in their routines. And for Ames High dance, this part comes naturally to them.

“I really enjoy the sense of community and togetherness we have,” freshman Natalie Haila said. “We all push each other to be better at our skills, but at the end of the day we are still a team.”  

Throughout the season, the Ames dance team attends countless football games, halftime performances, and basketball games all while balancing multiple days of practice a week as well as their schoolwork and other extracurriculars. Although this can be chaotic and stressful at times, Coach Jessica Martin manages to keep the team focused and engaged even when practices are tough. 

“I think something that has worked really well for us is remembering the purpose behind what we are doing,” Jessica Martin said. “We are focused on team growth, and if we realize we aren’t hitting our goals we kind of reset and remind ourselves why we are all here.” 

This year, the AHS dance team decided to prioritize personal growth and development while also improving their connection with each other. “Last year was a big jump into

performing more and becoming more involved at AHS, and we decided to leap even further and challenge ourselves more this season,” Martin said.

Together, the Ames High Dance team attended three competitions, including state, and received higher scores than Ames High ever has in recent years. Following this, all three of their competition routines, each in a different category, placed first at state. This allowed for a clean sweep at their final and biggest competition of the year and a wonderful end to their season. “Honestly, state is just so fun,” sophomore Ireland Doyle said. “It’s such a long, fun day and the bonding is so fun.”