Day in and day out, the Prior Lake High School Dance Team (PLDT) trains to perfect their gameday performances. This week, the team is working extra hard to learn a new homecoming routine, featuring a hip-hop style, that will be performed during halftime of the homecoming football game.
The fall dance team performs at all Prior Lake home football games. Captains Lauren Beck, Izzy Dwire, Gabi Adams, and Lexie Ver Meer work together to create unique routines to entertain the crowd on Friday nights.
The four captains appreciate how well they all mesh well together.
Senior captain Gabi Adams said she looks up to fellow teammate and senior co-captain Izzy Dwire, as she is a piece to the puzzle that keeps the team together
“She just has the best work ethic I’ve ever seen,” Gabi said.
This type of fellowship between the captains keeps the team hardworking and positive.
“We always have a tradition of switching to a hip-hop routine for homecoming, and so this week we are working on perfecting that for pep fest and the game,” said Lauren Beck, another PLDT senior captain.
Their music features fun hip-hop styles from ‘Sally Walker’ by Iggy Azalea, ‘No Friends In The Industry’ by Drake, ‘What’s Poppin’ by Jack Harlow, and more.
Every routine in the fall season is choreographed by the captains who spend countless hours perfecting them for their team. This week, the captains are working extra hard to create their best dance of the season that they will debut on Friday night.
On top of choreographing, the captains also teach the dance to all 61 girls on the team. However, this does come with challenges.
“It can become very difficult, stressful, and overwhelming when people are asking questions and we are trying to figure out what to teach and how fast to teach it,” Lauren said regarding some of the challenges the captains face.
This week, the Prior Lake Dance Team has put in extra hours to prepare for their most compelling routine yet.
Gabi said the captains taught the Homecoming routine in two days, a week and a half before performance day. The team practices Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 3:20-5:15 pm to clean their routine to perfection.
In addition to wanting to put on the best performance possible, the PLDT loves to get “hype” before their halftime show.
While explaining the team’s strategy of “sizzling,” Lauren said, “They pop it, lock it, chop it, and sizzle, and we have dances that go along with it. It’s so much fun because we are all screaming.”
Homecoming not only brings Prior Lake High School together, but it also creates a week of bonding for the PLDT.
“PLDT feels like one big family, and we are able to connect more with our teammates,” Lauren said.
The connections built throughout this team are sure to last longer than the four years that the girls perform together.
