Cheer and Dance Host Virtual Tryouts
The dance and cheers teams’ tryouts will be conducted online through Zoom and video for the upcoming 2020-2021 fall and winter season.
PHOTO | Avery Brundige
Junior Kaitlyn Quinn leaps to the ground during dance team’s performance at the pep rally Feb. 27.
Students will be required to try out for the cheer and dance teams in April virtually due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We will have an information meeting virtually,” cheer coach Tabby McCarthy said. “This is when we’ll go over our contract, answer questions and explain the tryout process.”
The cheer team information meeting will be held Sunday, April 15 over Zoom. Tryout material will then be sent out April 28 to those that completed the paperwork given at the information meeting.
Senior Meg Wilkerson and junior Bella Aquino hold freshman Emily Dierks as she nods at the crowd during cheer’s halftime performance Feb. 27.
“We will have two parts to the tryouts on May 1,” McCarthy said. “The first part the candidates will need to record at home and send in and the second will be an individual live tryout over Zoom, judged by Coach Tabby and Coach Meg.”
Dance team coaches Shelli Vaughan and Marion Gould announced on Instagram and Twitter that they will also be conducting virtual tryouts. The information meeting April 7 will cover more details about the tryouts, as well as purpose and goals, events and activities, costs, expectations and more, according to Gould.
“Those wishing to attend the information meeting will need to contact Shelli via email,” Gould said. “Basically, those auditioning will be asked to fill out and submit an information form via the internet, learn a short routine and submit videos similar to what we would normally see in a tryout.”
The applicants will be given a specific amount of time to learn the routines and submit the videos. They will be judged similarly to how they have been in the past, according to Gould. The tryouts will consist of three parts: one video is a learned routine, one is a set of skills normally presented at tryouts and the last is an optional third video of extra skills or a short performance.
“It might be harder for those who haven’t tried out for the team before [to try out virtually] because they can’t ask specific questions regarding technique or the styles of dance we are doing,” junior dance team member Kaitlyn Quinn said. “I think it will definitely be a new experience for everyone.”
Those interested in the dance team information meeting should email coach Shelli Vaughan at [email protected] and those interested in the cheer team information meeting should email coach Tabby McCarthy at [email protected]. The emails should include the candidate’s name, email, current grade and school and a parent’s name and email.