Competitive dance has stepped up their preparation and have a significantly changed roster for this season.

Head coach Callie Gliwa is new this year and is looking forward to her first season. She noted the passion that she sees with this year’s group.

“I would say one big change that I’ve noticed from past years is the commitment to the team,” Gliwa said. “Preparing the team for competitions is very tedious. We go through the entire dance count by count.”

Senior Kayla Wolfe has been with the team through all four years of high school. Wolfe also commented on the team’s readiness for the upcoming season.

“The team has changed immensely since last season,” Wolfe said. “Going into this season, as a team, we are more prepared for competition season than we have been in previous years. We have been conditioning and practicing technique since the beginning of summer.”

Their dancing style is different from past years having previously done jazz. This season they are using a slower and more lyrical approach.

“We have a really strong team this year, and every girl brings something to the table,” senior Bailee Wilhite said. “We have multiple soloists throughout the piece, so it’s great to see them have the opportunity to showcase their abilities.”

Alyssa Wolski, another senior who has been with the team since freshman year, as well as other Tigerettes agreed that having the new coaches will further help the team.

“Our new coaches this year, Callie Gliwa and Kristianna Lopez, push us each practice to help achieve our team goals,” Wolski said. “A coach can impact their team’s motivation and confidence, so it is refreshing to have leaders who care about our performance as much as the dancers do.”

The team’s primary goal is to qualify for state and have the chance to perform for a title. They reached state during the 2016-17 season and are looking to get back this year.

“We want to perform well at conference and hopefully win first like we did in 2017,” Wolski said. “We also want to make the top six at sectionals, sending us to the state championship.”

This season they have chosen to dance  to the song “I Will Wait” by Little Mix, and it has set the tone of their routine.

“I really like the song, and it’s easy to pour our emotions out on the floor,” Wolfe said.

Their first competition was on Dec. 1 at Minooka, and they ended up finishing tenth out of 48 teams. The dance team members see this as a strong way to kick off their new season.

“[This] is a great start and we are excited to keep competing and get better and better each week,” Wolfe said.

Wolski was also happy with their first competition’s results at Minooka and with placing tenth overall.

“We were all super proud considering we were up against many of the top teams in the state,” Wolski said.

The competitive dance members feel they have started the year off on a promising note and are looking to keep improving throughout the season with every competition.

“This group of dancers wants it and that really helps the atmosphere during practices,” Gliwa said.