Suburban teams gearing up for dance championships

Egyptian pharaohs, super action figures and whimsical fairy tales are just a few of the creative themes playing out today at the TEAMDance Illinois state championships.

About 2,000 students on teams from more than 100 high schools are descending on the Carver Arena inside the Peoria Civic Center. They will be showcasing the best dance, flag and poms routines from throughout the state.

The championship stretches from morning until night, featuring six dance categories in class sizes A, AA and AAA. Those are based on enrollment as determined by the Illinois High School Association. The competition also takes in the flag championships, with teams competing in tall, short and lyrical flag categories.

"This year, it was more challenging than ever to qualify," says Joni May, one of the founding directors of TEAMDance Illinois.

"Our membership grew, and so did the number of regional qualifying tournaments," she adds, "but still we had more teams who didn't qualify their second performance - or qualify at all."

One team that didn't have any trouble qualifying was Palatine High School with its flag team. The school has won the team title in flags the last three years, and this year will be the team to beat in both tall flags and lyrical.

Their tall flag routine in particular has proved to be a crowd favorite. It is performed to the popular song "Jai Ho" from the movie "Slumdog Millionaire."

"It contains some modern, almost hip-hop like dance moves, as well as very intricate choreography and technique with the flags," says Coach Amy Vinyard. "They are constantly moving, adding many little accents and levels, creating a rich and textured routine."

Among area teams, Fremd High School enters as the state champions in AAA Poms, looking to defend its title. Led by Coach Katie Fedota, the team choreographed an Egyptian routine that plays off the energy in a remix of "Walk Like an Egyptian."

"Once the girls heard that music, they ran with it," Fedota says. "It's been a real crowd pleaser all year."

Fremd expects stiff competition from some of the schools in its own district, namely Conant and Palatine high schools, who are seeded among the top five among large schools, along with Wheaton Warrenville South High School.

Conant's poms team has designed a Batman routine, including forming a Batmobile out of their pom poms, while Palatine features an Alice in Wonderland routine, complete with a Mad Hatter hat made of their poms.

The open dance category means just that, with styles and emotions running the gamut from sharp and hard-edged to soft and vulnerable.

The Lancettes from Lake Park are the defending champs in the Class AAA division and this year will feature a contemporary routine danced to the classic girl anthem from the 1990s, "Stay" by Lisa Loeb.

"The girls really get into it, and make it more than going through choreography steps," says Coach Stephanie Hageman. "They put their heart and soul into it."

Stevenson's Patriettes return as Class AAA champions in lyrical and runners up in Class AAA kick. They are competing in both again this year, and they look strong.

"In kick, it's how high above your head your kicks are and how technically sound they are," says Coach Kristin Piekarski, whose team will perform to "Rock 'n' Roll."

Among hip-hop routines, Jacobs High School in Algonquin enters as favorite, having won the Class AAA state title the last six years. Last year, the school edged Wheaton North, while Naperville Central and Neuqua Valley also finished in the top five.

"The difficulty of our hip-hop routine is pretty high," says Jacobs Coach Kristen Semrich. "We usually pull out a wow factor by the time we get to the state competition."

Geneva High School's dance team won the lyrical division last year among Class AA medium-sized schools, finishing just ahead of Libertyville High School.

Coach Katie Edison says all of her squad members have formal ballet training and they take classes as a team through the summer and during the year. They will perform their routine to the emotional ballad, "Lift Me Up."

"In lyrical, you're scored on artistic and technical ability, and I think we have both," Edison says.