Three of our seniors took some time to share what it is like to be on the MLHS Dance Team. The dance team will spend hours practicing, not only on the weekdays but also on the weekends before performance weeks. Since the gym and track is in use for other sporting practices, the girls need to warm up and practice in the school hallways. The team has not let this dampen their spirits, but see it as a way to grow even closer as a team.
Katie Ungemach (Senior, 4 years): I love being on the MLHS dance team. Through it, I have made some of my closest friends and best memories of high school. My favorite memories from the past 4 years have been our performance days. We all dress up or wear our jackets to school. After school, go pick up food to eat and bring it back to school. We eat dinner together as a team and it is a cool bonding experience. As we are getting ready for our performance, there’s lots of things to do (curl our hair, do our makeup, stretch, etc.) Even though we are a bit nervous for the performance, we use it as an opportunity to become closer as a team. Right up until the moment we are walking out onto the court, we are constantly encouraging each other. After we are done dancing and leave the gym, we congratulate each other on our performance and build each other up. Being a part of the MLHS Dance Team has been an amazing experience for me throughout high school and has helped me become the leader and friend I am today.
Emma Kolar (Senior, 2 years): I did dance team my sophomore year in the fall, along with this fall and winter. I skipped my junior year because I was VERY busy, but I wish I had done it all 4 years! I really enjoy performing, practicing, and everything that goes into dance. Originally, I had only wanted to perform on the fall team because in the winter I did basketball. However, this year I made the really hard decision to switch from basketball to dance for the winter season. I definitely made the right choice and feel very welcomed by my team and Miss Bosin! I have made more friends and enjoy the process of preparing for dances. We have practices or performances about 3-4 days a week. For practices, we run for 5 minutes, stretch, do core exercises to help strengthen us for performances, and finally we practice the routine we are currently working on. Our first performance this Tuesday, November 23rd, it is a kick routine, and those are TIRING! Kick routines take a lot out of you, but that’s the fun part to me. It’s why we condition for it and practice really hard. I’m no dancer myself, but am working hard to improve. Yet, at the end of the day, just enjoying yourself while dancing is one of my favorite things to do! I’m really thankful for my team and how they have welcomed me full-time this year. I love them all and really enjoy forming friendships with them.
Preem Nutnicha (Senior, 2 years): As an international student, I am immensely proud of being a part of the dance team at Manitowoc Lutheran High School. Participating in a dance team provides me opportunities to learn new dances. It has not only given me valuable new experiences, but I have also made more friends and gained much-needed self-confidence. I am so glad I get to dance with other people and I enjoy working with the other girls in the team. Dance has turned out to be extremely exciting for me as I have discovered this is one of my true passions. If you are unsure of joining the dance team, I recommend that you do! It has been so exciting because we work as a Dancer Family to share our hard work with those that come out to support the basketball players at the games.