“Expecto Patronum,” bellowed junior Christina Green jokingly upon arriving at Hogwarts, Florida. “We just wanted to relax and forget the stress of competing.”
After a hard day of dancing Green and the other Wranglers were finally able to relax at Universal Studios in Orlando. The CMR Dance Team competed in Florida on March 12 at a competition put on by the National Dance Association.
“We had to earn our bid (at the competition) by learning a dance at our 3 day camp and then being judged on it,” junior Danielle Braget said.
Aside from the usual practices in preparation for performing at basketball and football games the Wranglers had to put in a great deal of effort to make it to National’s.
“We spent a lot of time making sure everything looked good, and was performed right,” sophomore Nicole Zarling said.
“Fundraising was definitely the hardest part of the year for me,” senior Megan Varner said.
Aside from the obvious physical toll of dancing the Wranglers face anothe obstacle in that they are, largely, responsible for fundraising. Not considered an official sport (it’s classified a club) the Wrangler’s are repsonisble for funding their normal yearly activities along with getting the funds needed for National’s.
Dedication for the drill team requires more than fundraising though, sacrificing a great deal of personal time is also a must.
“Getting through 5 a.m. practices was the hardest part of drill for me,” Braget said.
The hard work has really payed off for the drill team, though, and despite a lot of hard work Varner feels her high school experience has been a good one.
“When we performed ‘Transformers’ (a routine) at the girl’s playoff and we saw the crowds reaction to something we had worked hard on was really great.”
“I love kick and hip-hop, the audience love’s hip-hop,” Braget said.
The year is winding down now for the Wrangler’s, and for Varner her time as a Wrangler is drawing to a close; her trip to Florida, however, will stay with her for a long tim.
“It was good to be able to bond as a team,” Varner said. “Watching the other teams, and seeing what they came up with was also a really good experience It’s been a great year.”
