The Indian Creek High School varsity dance team lifts senior Quincy Nuetzmann as part of the jazz routine.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The Indian Creek High School dance team hopes to win a state dance championship for the third year in a row this weekend.
The five dancers: Quincy Nuetzmann, Jaycee Snyder, Grace Ellis, Lydia Ringer and Layla Wade, will compete at the Indiana High School Dance Team Association State Championship Saturday in the Scholastic Division, reserved for teams of fewer than eight members. The girls are vying for a third straight title in hip-hop dance, and will compete against Eastern, Parke Heritage and White River Valley high schools. The team will make its state championship debut in jazz dance, competing against White River Valley High School and Mishawaka High School, said Julie Anderson-Beasley, varsity dance coach.
The competition will take place Saturday at Jefferson High School in Lafayette, with tickets available online.
The team has earned first place in all competitions in hip-hop dance this year and jazz dance has also claimed the top spot in all but one competition, when the team placed second in the first contest of the season, Anderson-Beasley said.
“With a small group, there’s some challenges with formation. The judges like to see a lot of formations and use of the floor, which is difficult when there are only five dancers,” she said. “Tricks and lifts can be difficult, but they’re a tight-knit group and work well in dance together. That’s the nice thing about having a smaller group, they just develop well as a team.”
Anderson-Beasley has been the dance team’s coach since 2007, and the past three seasons have been the most successful during her tenure. Part of that success lies in the leadership of Nuetzmann, the team’s only senior who has served as captain since sophomore year, when those state titles started pouring in.
A dancer since she was a child and a competitor since middle school, she has assisted Anderson-Beasley in fine-tuning aspects of the routines and clarifying things for newer members, Nuetzmann said.
“We’ve definitely really worked on the harder or faster parts of our routine and we made sure to get the timing perfect so it’s altogether nice and clean,” she said. “Another thing we try and work on is facial expressions, because we struggled with that. For jazz, it is more of an uplifting and encouraging song, and for hip-hop, it’s a more intense kind of dance and song.”
The team will dance to “Brighter Days” by Blessing Offor. The hip-hop song selection is a mix of “Ready or Not” by Halsey and “Coming in Hot” by Andy Mineo, Anderson-Beasley said.
“My biggest desire is for them to have a great performance and a great memory of their performance,” she said. “I tell them ‘we can’t control the judge’s opinion or score, but we can control how we train and prepare.’ I just want them to be happy with what they left on that floor.”
Ellis, a freshman who competed on the middle school dance team, is getting her first crack at a state championship.
“I really just hope to gain skills and become more confident in myself and dance stuff I’m doing, to be able to help my teammates in all they’re doing as I get older and more people join the team,” she said.
Ringer, a sophomore, has been dancing for over a decade. This year, however, has stood out because of how well she and her team get along, Ringer said.
“We’re all really great friends and we know how to work with each other and make each other laugh,” she said. “We pick each other up when we’re down and it helps with friendship and learning anything new, dance-wise.”
For Nuetzmann, the competition will be a chance to finish her high school career with a triple crown of state titles.
“I am sad but also happy. I feel excited and hopeful to win state again, to give it our all and do our best, but I’m sad it’s my final competition,” Nuetzmann said. “I’ve definitely gotten closer friendships with all of them, and it’s a better experience dancing with the high school team. You push yourself more when it’s people you know.”
