Although the preview show hosted by the Bomber Dance Team every year on their home floor is not a competition, the emotions can be widespread as they get ready to perform for the first time to their home crowd. Traditionally, many girls feel nervous, excited, thrilled, and scared all at the same time which are the emotions these girls feel every time before they are about to step onto the floor. Except this year, they feel another feeling that is not common this early in the season: confidence.
Over the last three weeks, the Bomber Dance Team (BDT) has been working extra hard as they prepare for their preview show where they show off their brand-new routines right on their home floor. “The coaches have been pushing us very hard to prepare for the Preview but when we all felt prepared before walking on the floor it was so worth it,” says Kendra Reed, a junior dancer on the BDT and a member of the BDT leadership team. The BDT runs a mile twice a week to build their endurance and on the days they don’t run, they are in the weight room building their strength, Reed explained. Then at practice, they work very hard “cleaning” the dance to make it more presentable while working on their skills and technique. Even though practice and workouts can be challenging, the BDT pushes through by working as a team.
Team chemistry is one of the most important things in team sports. Without a team that works together, it makes it very difficult to achieve a common goal. According to Emily Breland, another member of the BDT leadership team, the team chemistry has been very good for the dance team. “Everyone is very motivated and we are working towards making our dance and ourselves better every single day in and outside of practice,” emphasized Breland. Throughout the season, the BDT does different team bonding activities to strengthen their bond with each other Breland added. A few of these activities include team sleepovers, team feeds, and various fun games during practices. Breland expressed how team chemistry is very important to the BDT because of, “the way we work together determines the outcome of our season”. The BDT has been working on their bond and dances as they prepare for the upcoming competition season.
Fast forward to after the Preview, many dancers and fans would tell you that the annual preview show went very well for the BDT. “As a team, we all felt way more prepared than previous years,” stated Amera Wells, who is also a dancer and member of the leadership team. Many dancers felt they knew exactly what they had to do when they stepped out on the floor and exactly how to do it, thanks to the hard practices that they’ve been having over the course of the last few weeks. Wells also mentioned that after they got off the floor many dancers thanked the coaches for making them run and work hard because they were not nearly as tired after performing their routines. “Looking back on how well the preview went really gets us excited and feeling confident about the competitions starting,” exclaimed Wells. The BDT is lucky to have its first competition on their home floor which boosts the team’s confidence even more. On December 2nd, the BDT will compete for the first time this season. They are feeling prepared and excited about the competition season.
As the BDT anticipates competitions to come, they will continue to work just as hard in and out of practice as they have the last three weeks of preseason. Now that they have seen how much their hard work has paid off, the girls are even more motivated and confident that they can work as a team to achieve the goals they have set for themselves and end with a season full of accomplishments. While working as a team they will become closer and improve their skills and dances. The team is excited to see what this season has in store and will continue to propel into the upcoming competition season.
