While everything on campus was winding down after the first day of school, the Gustavus Dance Team was just getting started. Tryouts for the performance team began at 8 p.m. and the team’s season was officially underway.

Seven new additions were added after Tuesday’s tryouts, bringing the team’s roster up to eighteen dancers. These new dancers joined a dynamic team with strong leadership, immense talent, and potential to continue the success of past seasons.

Head coach Krista Ripperton ’14 was a member of the dance team all four years and captain her last two. She quantified the success of last season by the performance team dancing at all home football games and the competition team taking second place at nationals in California.

“Our goal is always to expand the team and allow more girls to further pursue dance when they are in college,” Ripperton said.

When asked about this year’s team, many of the team leaders expressed similar thoughts of excitement. Junior captain Maddie Renneke believes the dance team is unique from other sport teams.

“No one is trying to be a star dancer it’s really about making sure everyone dances well together,” Renneke said.

In order to create a cohesive team they must bond as a group. Team bonding consists of eating some meals together, hanging out outside of practice and various other activities throughout the year.

Senior captain Rachael Urbaniak’s goal is to create a close-knit team and work hard to be successful.

“The only thing harder than getting first is staying there,” Urbaniak said.

The team took first place at the Saint Thomas Invite last year and hope to defend their win this year.

The girls on the team love to dance and want to share that love with the audience members at each of their performances. At any performances, the team wants students and audience members to clap, bring signs and be loud throughout the dance. Emily Palmquist believes the team brings an upbeat experience to the games they perform at. The crowd interaction shows people are enjoying the show, which is a big motivation for the girls to have a great performance.

The performance team will dance at home football and basketball games. Renneke explains the team practices three days a week for two hours each night.

“That’s just a huge amount of work to get done in such a short amount of time,” Renneke said.

Each week the team learns and performs a new routine for the game.

The competition dance team will have a send off later in the fall where they will unveil their new dance before competing locally and across the country. Coach Ripperton said she would host additional try-outs for the basketball game performances in the winter if enough students expressed interest in joining the team. Her contact information can be found at the Gustavus Dance Team website for anyone interested.

This year the four captains will be Rachael Urbaniak, Maddie Renneke, Hailee Griffin and Jenna Ripperton. Check out the halftime show at the football game on Saturday Sept. 26 (Homecoming) for their next performance. Best of luck to the dance team for their upcoming performances and competitions.