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SPREAD DESIGN BY MARISSA MATHIESON & RYAN TUNG
MOVE TO THE BEAT Laduette dance team brings music and dance together RYAN TUNG features staff
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n a Wednesday evening, the sun sets over Ladue High School. However, inside its walls, the school remains alive. On the gymnasium floor, a team of dancers moves as one, perfectly synchronized with the pulsing music. The Laduette Dance Team, coached by Julie Grace and Alexandra Guenther, works to seamlessly combine dance and music and produce engaging performances. Through consistent practice to convey music and emotion through choreography, the team has found continued success at both regional and national levels. “We perform at all varsity home football and basketball games as well as community events,” Grace, a former Laduette and team coach since 2008, said. “One of our biggest accomplishments is winning the 2016 National Dance Association Medium Varsity Hip Hop Championship.” Since the start of the pandemic, however, the team has been forced to adapt to changing circumstances. Because each dancer is closely connected in routines, the group has taken special safety precautions to protect the health
The Laduette Dance Team practices in the high school gymnasium. The team started practicing during the pandemic at the start of the school year. “Team operations have been very different than normal,” coach Julie Grace said. “We have been managing with all of the COVID restrictions.” (Photo by Ginger Schulte)
of everyone involved. For Claire Long, a senior and team captain, the season has been drastically different from years past. “The virus has put us further behind than we usually would be,” Long said. “We’re coming back in steps. We wear a mask during practice, make sure we’re distancing and take health surveys. We’re trying to be really careful.” Despite the setbacks, the team has continued to prepare for performances and competitions. During the three practices a week, each dancer and coach helps plan, create and prepare routines in the high school gymnasium. “We spend a lot of time teaching and cleaning routines,” Grace said. “When we are not preparing for games, we are working on our national competition routines and organizing our trip to Nationals.” But dance is more than just perfecting choreography. For the Laduettes, music plays an equally crucial role in creating a compelling performance. “For a dance to be good, you have to have music,” Long said. “The two go hand in hand.” In fact, when creating routines, the team relies on music to determine the style of choreography. The genre, tempo and rhythms of a song work as a foundation for every dance.
