Members win for third consecutive year at Nevada Silver State Spirit Championships
By JAN HOGAN
VIEW STAFF WRITER
Special to viewThe varsity dance team at Faith Lutheran Junior/Senior High School won the Nevada Silver State Spirit Championships, held in Carson City on Feb. 24. Front row, from left, Ashley Newton, Sarah Straub, Megan Foggia, Rachel Plummer, Jacqueline Meyer, Jackie Guedry and Briana Ingram. Back row, from left, Jillian Stenzel, Paige Fulfer, Brittney Bennett, Rikki Mitchell, Kinsey Netzorg and Andie Horan.
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Faith Lutheran Junior/Senior High School's dance program is proving to be a winner.
The varsity team returned from the Nevada Silver State Spirit Championships, held in Carson City on Feb. 24, bringing home the top trophy -- an engraved bowl.
"It was a happy bus ride on the way home," said Cayce Newton, manager of the Faith Lutheran dance teams.
It was the third year in a row that the school's varsity dance team won the event, sanctioned by the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association. The team also earned two other trophies for placing first in the jazz and hip-hop categories, which cinched their overall win.
The team competed against similarly sized schools from Yerington, Moapa Valley, Pahrump, Mesquite, Spring Creek, Winnemucca and Fernley. The coach is Christine Harper, who owns and operates Dance West studio, 2081 N. Jones Blvd.
"We went up there prepared 200 percent," Harper said. "We over-prepared to make sure we'd win."
Harper started the middle school dance team at Faith Lutheran six years ago. Two years after that, she took over the high school varsity team, as well.
The 13 members of the varsity team are Brittney Bennett, Megan Foggia, Paige Fulfer, Jackie Guedry, Andie Horan, Briana Ingram, Jacqueline Meyer, Rikki Mitchell, Kinsey Netzorg, Ashley Newton, Rachel Plummer, Sarah Straub and Jillian Stenzel.
The varsity team performs at all the school's home football games and some of the away games, at basketball games and pep assemblies, as well as at an annual lip sync event held during Homecoming Week.
Dance isn't just for fun at Faith Lutheran. It's also proving to be a viable credit toward graduation, something Harper championed.
"I kept putting the bug in their ear," she said. "I thought it would be a real plus to offer it at Faith."
This year, dance was made an elective.
"Anyone who watches 'Dancing With the Stars' can see how physical dancing can be," said Kevin Dunning, the school's executive director. "There's definitely a place in the curriculum for it."
The girls train by doing various exercises that target specific muscles.
"A lot of boys took it, thinking it would be an easy A," Newton said. "They were set straight the first week ... there's a lot of core work. They couldn't believe how strenuous it was."
Newton's daughter Ashley, 17, a junior, has been involved with the school's dance program since seventh grade. She said the exercise portion was tough.
"The coach tells us, 'If you eat it, you can hold it,' " she said, referring to holding positions that tax the muscles.
Before dance became a credit course, Ashley estimated that she spent an extra two hours, twice a week, after school to be on the team. Now, she gets credit for doing what she loves.
Next year, Harper plans to add another class at the high school level to offer beginning and advanced dance classes.
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