years and want to show their school spirit on a team dedicated to
their craft. To our satisfaction, they approved our request in a few
weeks. We had tryouts in May and 11 BPHS students now make
up the first dance team. We are very thankful to Dr. Pasquerilla
and the school board for their support.”
In addition, the BPHS Dance Team can now participate in
local, regional and hopefully national competitions with the
other area high school dance teams, like those from
Canon-Mac, Mt. Lebanon, Peters
Township,
South
Park and
Upper St.
Clair.
“Even
though the
squads at
the other
high schools
are more
experienced
as teams, we
are fortunate
our girls are
not novices
when it comes to
performance,” notes
Smith. “And we are grateful
to have Heather Davidson as our coach. She has more than 10
years experience as an All-Star dance coach. She also danced
at Point Park University and coached South Fayette Cheer. We
know this will be a winning combination.”
The BPHS Dance Team executive board also gives kudos to
Barb DeLiere, advisor for the Peters Township Dance Team.
“Barb was hugely instrumental in helping us develop everything
we needed, from presenting to the school board to developing
bylaws and tryout forms,” says Finn. “She is a proponent of
friendly competition between school dance teams and has even
talked about sharing a bus to local competitions. We cannot
thank her enough.”
With the team in place, they quickly began practicing in May.
“The Bethel Park YMCA has opened their doors to us as a
practice facility,” notes Finn. “We use their state-of-the-art dance
space and they have been very accommodating in meeting our
needs and schedules. Their only requirement was each team
member buys a membership to the YMCA, which has turned out
to be fantastic because they can do other kinds of training. The
girls have been practicing and conditioning three times a week to
prepare for camp, future events and competitions. It is a common
goal amongst us to make sure we stand strong in our dance
platform and ensure this will be an amazing opportunity for all
Bethel Park students in the future.”
The BPHS Dance Team’s first performance in uniform in front
of an audience took place in July.
“The girls are so energized, determined and ambitious,” says
Smith. “They will do their routine the first day of camp, which
will also serve as their opportunity to win a bid to the national
competition in Disney World. It’s a very exciting time for all of
us.”
The first members of the BPHS Dance Team are ready for
a lot of hard work. But the women who helped provide this
opportunity already know they have what it takes.
“We are so happy for all of the team members and it’s nice
they’ve already bonded during practices,” says Ewing. “And to
enter high school as a part of something special, wearing school
colors and showing school spirit is all we really wanted to give
our girls. It means a lot to all of us and we can’t wait for the dance
team to knock everyone’s socks off.”
Bethel Park High School Dance Team members include
Lauren Ewing, Grace Finn, Abby Griffith, Alexa Karner, Mia
Lazarro, Gabrielle Smith, Corrine Skovranko, Joelle Sprandle,
Alana Spochaz, Mackenzie Stevenson and Brooke Veith. ■
BETHEL PARK
❘
FALL 2018
47