This was Hastings Dance Teams first ever conference competition and we could not be more proud of making that history.”

Head Coach Kayla Sohn

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The girls will head to Simley on Dec. 3 for the next competition, this one is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start. Then South St. Paul on Dec. 10 for a 7:00 p.m. start.

It has been said before, but for this story, it needs to be said again, High School Dance Team is the second largest high school sport in the State of Minnesota behind only one sport, football. It has more participating schools and student athletes than hockey and 99.9 percent of the participants are female athletes. Two Rivers, Park of Cottage Grove, South St. Paul, Tartan, Apple Valley, Rosemount, Simley, all communities surrounding Hastings and all communities that had a dance team for at least a decade. Hastings not having a dance team felt wrong, especially with all the great dance studios we have in town.
We can now officially say it “feels so right” as the inaugural season of the new MSHSL approved addition to Raider Athletics, the Raider Dance Team, participated in their first ever Metro East Conference dance competition. These girls did not just show up and participate, they danced their hearts out and the coaches brought the house down! Well, ok, they brought the table down, but that is more of a visual part of the story (see the picture.)
High school dance team consists of the same three upper levels as most high school sports, varsity, junior varsity and B-squad. For this season, Hastings will have JV and varsity and like other sports, varsity will normally be the focus of the coverage. Each level performs two different styles of dance, Jazz and High Kick. Some competitions only have one style for that night while most have both High Kick and Jazz.
The length of each competition depends on the number of teams participating and how fast the judges can make their notes between each routine. A fast competition could be five to six minutes per team and the average competition is closer to somewhere between six and seven minutes per team, plus about 20-30 minutes for judges to tally everything and the awards to be presented. The conference competitions will likely be just over an hour per style plus half an hour after for the awards. So, if both High Kick and Jazz are being performed, expect two and a half hours. If it is an invitational on a Saturday, expect an all-day event. Some invites start at 7 a.m. and can last until 10 p.m. Those are usually separated into different classes, but each class can take 6-8 hours.
Like diving and gymnastics, dance team is a judged sport with accredited, professional judges at each meet. The scoring process is one that has never been understood by this reporter, all that is known is, each judge scores ten categories 1-10 for a max team score of 100. Then, the judges gather after the competition and assign ranking points. The ranking points are the lower the better.
With all that setup, how did the Raider ladies do? They were incredible! Watching the pride they had walking on to the gym floor at the perennial state competitors home floor at Two Rivers was infectious. Their first ever competition was truly in the lion’s den. The Two Rivers Dance team is a powerhouse in the MSHSL dance world. Not very many teams have been able to walk into their place and take them down, and the Raiders did not care. Win or lose, it was their night to shine for the first time ever and the newcomers danced like no one was watching.
“This was Hastings Dance Teams first ever conference competition and we could not be more proud of making that history. This meet was only Jazz, so we debuted our Varsity Jazz team and Junior Varsity Jazz team’s dances,” explained Head Coach Kayla Sohn. “Both teams performed so well for their first time ever dancing on the gym floor. JV brought great facials and overall timing. Varsity brought impeccable technique. The end turn sequence where three varsity dancers do spot turns to end their ‘a la seconde’ turn set was flawless. It was so great that the coaches got so excited they broke the table.”
Hastings danced last for the night and during the judge’s conference, the girls were met with cheers from the opposing teams. Off the floor, the girls mix it up and get to know dancers from other schools. During the break, Matt, the dance competition DJ, keeps the music going for background entertainment. Dancers and music mean dancing and all five teams were on the floor dancing together.
B-squad was the first level announced and then came JV. The Hastings JV team placed second, just five points behind Two Rivers.
Of the six varsity teams, they officially announced the top three places. Two Rivers took first with three ranking points, South St. Paul placed second with six points, and Simley took third with 10 points. Hastings was just one point behind Simley with 11. Both Tartan and North St. Paul’s score was not known other than they placed fifth and sixth.
To say Sohn was excited is a huge understatement, a fourth-place finish behind three teams that often reach the state competition is a huge deal for their first ever performance.
Aside from the dancing, how did things go leading up to this historic moment?
“Our captains really shined in every aspect this week. Ella Meyer, Delaney McGraw, Miley Pagel, and Avery Courtney. They were leading their team while being in unknown territory themselves as they themselves hadn’t ever danced at a conference meet before. They did it with such grace and put the team’s needs above their own. They led with confidence, a calm demeanor, and positivity. They also led by example as they all danced very well themselves,” explained Sohn.
“We were so excited to make history and hear the Hastings Dance Teams name announced at the Metro East Conference Jazz meet. We cannot wait until December third where we will debut our varsity kick routine and compete both jazz routines again,” she added.
The girls will head to Simley on Dec. 3 for the next competition, this one is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start. Then South St. Paul on Dec. 10 for a 7:00 p.m. start.