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 Was held February 5, 2022 at 3 pm Reception and Fashion Show at the Winner Country Club clubhouse followed by a 5:30 pm Performance at WHS Armory at Boys Varsity Game. The Winner High School Warriorettes Drill Team was organized by Mrs. Janet Bruun to perform at football and basketball games for the 1970-1971 school year. According to an article in The Winner Advocate, the only extracurricular activities available to girls at WHS at that time were band, cheerleading and drama. To be a member, you needed to be either a Sophomore, Junior or Senior, and 24 girls were chosen based on five criteria from the judges: 1. Coordination, 2. Smiles, 3. Rhythm, 4. Poise and 5. Overall Appearance. Each girl had to learn a routine and perform it for the judge in order to make the team. Mrs. Bruun was the advisor for 30+ years and many, many performances were enjoyed by WHS and the Winner community under her leadership. The highlight of each year was getting invited to perform at the State A Boys Basketball Tournaments, and there have been only a few years out of these 50 we are now celebrating, that the WHS Dance team did not attend due to weather or, most recently, COVID-19. Over the years, the size of the team changed from 14-28 girls at times. Mrs. Cyndy DeMers became the advisor in 2002, and for a few years, also had JV teams so that all the girls who tried out could perform. In 2012, dance became a sanctioned sport for WHS, and the Warriorettes began competing with Mrs. DeMers as their coach. At this time, the girls who made the team did competitions in the fall and performances in the spring. For competitions, they performed in three of four available categories, including Hip Hop, Pom, and Kick, and they brought home several state awards.   The dance team also performed at football and basketball games, WHS wrestling tournaments, and community and high school variety shows over the years. With the addition of the freshman and middle school to the campus at WHS, girls in grades 7-12 are eligible to become members of the competition team. The performance team is now separate from the competition team but can still be seen performing at local events. Mrs. Sarah Taggart took over as the coach/advisor in 2020-2021, with Mrs. DeMers as an assistant coach for that year. In 2021, the team placed at State Dance with 4th overall including 3rd place in Hip Hop and 5th in Pom. Over the past 50 years, there have been many routines, and, of course, for every perfect performance comes the one which has not been so perfect. This includes music failing to play, lights going out, uniforms being forgotten, or trips out of town having a twist. The routines have also changed over the years. The original group was known for their high kicks and smiles. They have progressed to a more precision dance team that now includes jazz, pom with kicks, and hip-hop styles. Leaders of the team have created their own choreography and have attended various camps to learn new dances. No matter the style or the nature of the performance, being competitive or for entertainment, these are memories that almost everyone, from the first team to the last, has to share. |