There are eight new girls and four returning members. Ninth grade dancers are Holly Bennett, Trista Bork, Amanda Burlingame, Theresa Christian, and Rachel Hanson. New juniors are Angie Ahrens and Shelley Schoenburg. We have one new senior dancer, Lindsey Savage.
The returning dancers are juniors Wendy Bennett, Heidi Jensen, and Mesa Frenchick and senior Cyndi Bollman.
The captains of this year's dance team are Cyndi Bollman and unofficial captain Lindsey Savage.
The Pirouettes are coached by Rebecca Hoey, a teacher at Paynesville Area High School.
The Pirouettes practice four days a week with two morning practices. "It's really hard to have to get up at 5:30 a.m. to make it to practice by 6 a.m., but I don't mind," Lindsey said with a smile.
The dance team is very young this year. With only four returning members it is important that everybody works as a team in this "building" year. "I'm really excited to see what happens with this year and I hope to be even stronger next year," coach Hoey said.
Hoey also feels that it will be easier for the girls to have a coach that is a staff member. "In the years past it has been the captain's responsibility to get announcements in the daily bulletin, organize practices, and have to answer to any complaints that the other dancers had. I hope to take the load off of my captains so they can concentrate on the dance," Hoey stated.
"Many people don't realize that it is the captains' and teams' responsibility to make up the dance that they will be performing. If it is found out that the coach helped to choreograph the dance, the team could be disqualified from competition. This is a lot of extra pressure that people don't seem to understand," said Bollman.
The returning members have all agreed that the team is more organized this year than last year. They give the credit for this to their new coach. The team members are all very thankful to have such a wonderful coach.
The team is very hopeful for a successful season. The Pirouettes will be performing for the first time on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at the boys' basketball game against Annandale.
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