Dance squads bring it to Jacobs

When Jacobs High School Principal Michael Bregy said he felt like he was in the movie "Bring it On" Saturday, he wasn't too far off.

Nearly 60 high school open pom, kick, open dance, lyrical and hip hop teams from throughout the Chicago area "brought it" to the Team Dance Illinois Regional Contest, hosted by the Algonquin school.

Teams divided into four divisions-junior varsity, A, AA and AAA-competed from 8:30 a.m. to nearly 5 p.m.

Carol Mihalec, who was cheering on her daughter Ashley's pom squad from Oswego East High School, also in the AA division, said months of work go into a three-minute dance routine.

"It's a lot of work," she said. "But they do a great job."

Jacobs' hip hop team, the reigning state champs, brought out screams from crowd members as they performed a fast-paced routine in hoodies, tank tops, black sweats and white face masks.

The group that stole the show, however, weren't in it for a title-just a Saturday night date.

Jacobs' "Guy Poms" performed a routine that ended with members of the boys squad ripping off their shirts to display bare chests emblazoned with their phone numbers.

"I gave them permission," Bregy laughed.

Of the Fox Valley teams that performed, St. Charles North took away the open dance junior varsity trophy.

In hip hop, Bartlett took the junior varsity title; Johnsburg the class A title; Jacobs the AAA title. In lyrical, Geneva took the AA title. In kick, Crystal Lake South won the AA competition. St. Charles North also took away an artistic excellence award.

Jacobs was crowned the overall Fox Valley Conference champs in the hip hop AAA division.

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