Above: Back row, from left (seniors): Jasmine Hansen, Bailey Jahnke, Marianna Reyes, Olivia Haugen, Samantha Castro, Grace Klunder, Tori Nava, Libby Totzke, Cadence Breitbarth, Gwen Kallemeyn, Briana Joseph, Kinze Stradtman. Middle row, from left: Emma Hilgendorf, Paige Hainy, Anika Haugen, Ella Klunder, Laura Toeppel, Christina McGowan, Skyler Weber, Kate Grogin. Front row, from left: Jaydan Moses, Simoné Castro, Sydney Blomster, Alyvia Anderson, Cadence Leiding, Bel Lutterman, Finley Reichel, Allison Streit. Photo courtesy of Seifried Studio.

FAIRMONT– Fairmont High School’s Dance Team has come a long way since it was first formed in 2016. The team is made up of 27 dancers, grades 7-12, and is coached by Courtney Steuber and Lisa Carlson.

Steuber, who’s been with the team from the beginning, shared that there were 18 dancers in the first year.

A JV team was added in the second year. Steuber explained the team was self-funded for the first three years to prove it would be a viable addition. Originally it was open to students grades 9-12.

“Like any other program, if you don’t get those junior high kids started, it’s harder to compete at a varsity level with very little experience. We wanted to include people who maybe hadn’t been in studio dance but wanted to start,” Steuber said.

Of the 27 dancers this year, 12 are seniors. Some of them have been dancing since the JV team was added their 8th grade year.

“We have the biggest group of seniors we’ve ever had. That’s exciting because we’ve grown so much since they’ve started,” Steuber said.

With the growing team has come two additional coaches– Rebecca Hagert and Emily Dahlke, both of whom danced on their own high school dance teams.

Members of the team practice from 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. The early start time shows their dedication to the sport.

The team often performs at half-time during boys and girls home basketball games. Carlson said spectators say they look forward to having the team as their halftime entertainment.

However, the team does far more than just perform half time numbers. It also competes at several competitions each season.

Steuber said the team competes in high kick and jazz as those are the two styles that are recognized by the Minnesota Dance Team Association. She said they also incorporate other styles into their dances as well.

“High Kick is something we don’t see in our area. We have to perform 45 to 60 kicks in unison above the waist. It’s the equivalent of doing a seven minute sprint. It’s crazy high endurance,” Steuber said.

Carlson shared that the High Kick team is dancing to “Survivor” this year , which symbolizes the climb from a startup team, and overcoming obstacles like school funding and COVID. The “FROM DUST” in the team poster is a reference to the message in the High Kick dance.

The team goes up against others in the Big South Conference which includes Marshall, St. James, Worthington and New Ulm. However, the competitions are about two hours away, either toward the metro or Rochester area.

Steuber said that’s also in part because most of the judges, from the Judges Association of Minnesota, which is the equivalent of referees, are in the metro area.

This year’s season started with an early December competition in St. James which the team placed first at in both high kick and varsity jazz.

“From there we continued to improve at every competition,” Steuber said.

The team competed in a record number of competitions this year. Because it’s a winter sport, Steuber said it’s kind of tricky because most of the competitions are on weekends and unlike, say basketball, if a competition is cancelled due to weather, it’s not rescheduled.

Now the season is at its end. The team has sections today in Winona and as it was moved into the Section 1AA category, it will go up against teams it has never competed against.

While it remains to be seen whether the season will go on for the team, it’s already proven successful-both on and off stage. Steuber said the team has been honored for academics through the Minnesota Dance Team Association.

“If a team as a whole has a good grade point average then you’re recognized at the state competition and we’ve always maintained that which I think is really something to be proud of,” Steuber said.

At 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 14, the team will have its year-end showcase at Fairmont High School.

“We do all of the routines we’ve performed over the season and recognize our seniors and our parents. It’s a really fun event that everyone looks forward to,” Steuber said.

It will include a senior spotlight dance, father-daughter dance, Christmas dance, varsity High Kick and JV and varsity jazz.