1.  They make up their own moves: The dance team members collaborate with the coach to choreograph and invent moves for their chosen song, all from scratch. They change the dance routine around as their practices progress. “We’re constantly modifying the choreography,” junior captain Calla Saunders said.

2.  The songs they dance to get old: When practice is based almost entirely on a particular sequence for one song, the song gets repeated about 20 times. Therefore, a major determinant in choosing a song is the lyrics. “We’re going to need to listen to this song every single day for hours at a time,” Saunders said. “Last year, we danced to “My Life Would Suck Without You” and we all hated it. So now we sing it to bother each other as an inside joke,” Saunders said.

3.  They’re expanding: The SPA dance team gained six new members this year, including Sammie Bluhm, Isabelle Bukovsan, Claudia Rosario, Rachael Yao, Carenna Saunders, and Ellie Hoppe.

4.  They don’t have a set practice area: Last year, the dance team used to practice at the campus of St. Catherine University. Because of construction, they have been alternating between Bigelow Commons and the cardio room at SPA. “Neither spot is ideal, but we’re doing the best we can,” Saynders said.

5.  They have traditions: The team members exchanges gifts with each other for Secret Santa, and call each other by nicknames made up during practices. “Practice doubles as bonding time because we laugh and goof around a lot,” Saunders said.

6.  They are not cheerleaders: There are many distinctions to make between dance team and a cheerleading squad. First off, the routines for dance team are longer in duration and fewer in quantity. Secondly, the moves are dramatically different. Cheerleading is composed of more acrobatic moves as compared to dance team. In addition, dance moves are less rigid. “There’s a slightly more graceful style to dance,” Saunders said.Dance Team is also different from cheerleading in that they are more focused on their own accomplishments than those of the sport being supported by cheerleadres: “we’re also a sport of our own, not there to cheer on other people,” Saunders said.

7.  They have goals: “We’re very serious about the goals we set,” Saunders said. These goals include that every team member will “have their splits down” in time for the first competition which takes place in January. Another goal includes ranking within the top five teams at Sections.

8.  You don’t need to be able to do the splits or a pirouette to join: The dance team prides itself in its flexibility (no pun intended)  in embracing newcomers. One doesn’t have to have taken dance classes before to do well on the dance team. “I’ve heard a lot of people say that they wouldn’t join dance because they’re not coordinated or flexible or they don’t have enough dance experience. If you’re willing to put in the effort, [the dance team members will] help you get where you need to be, no matter what your previous dance experience may be,” Saunders said.