Shopper Blog: Champion school dance teams make Farragut proud
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FARRAGUT
Champion school dance teams make Farragut proud
Nancy Anderson, Shopper News
The Farragut Middle School dance team just danced away with the TSSAA state pom championship as well as the jazz championship.
Not to be outdone by the Farragut High School team – who are also national champions.
It takes a village to bring up a nationally ranked dance team. The school has found a winner in coach Macy Brink. She coaches both the middle school and high school dance teams with the help of assistant coaches and sponsors.
The middle school assistant coach is Laura Warrington while the high school assistant coach is Victoria Ogier. There are also a number of choreographers from across the country from Tennessee to New York who work with the 13-member middle school team and the 14-member high school team.
Sponsors include the high school’s Amy McWhirter and middle school’s Elizabeth Wilson.
The girls are busy, to say the least. In addition to the school dance teams, most of the girls belong to competitive dance teams – all in all requiring five to seven days of practice for at least five hours. It’s a sport of sacrifices.
The middle school team can be seen at all the basketball games, while the high school team performs at basketball and football games. Each team knows pom, jazz and gameday routines to get the fans excited.
Brink has taken the two teams and made them one family. They attend competitions together, cheering for each other.
The older girls have a sister relationship with the younger girls, writing them notes of encouragement and bringing them little gifts like candy.
Brink kicks off the year with a barbecue for dancers and family where they play field games and bond over good food. Then it’s back to work.
“The high school dancers are incredible role models for the middle school and the middle school dancers just love the high school dancers,” said Brink.
“What I love most about it all is seeing all the little success the dancers achieve during practice and at competitions,” she said.
It’s not all about dance for Brink and her staff. She coaches the kids to be good people, too – to do what you say you’ll do or own up to it. They have lessons in time management, and even go out into the community to volunteer at different events.
Brink has a distinctive dancing career. She taught at Revolution Dance Studio for seven or eight years. She was also a member of the dance team for four years while attending the University of Tennessee.
Her No. 1 goal is not necessarily winning championships; she says they will come if they do everything else right.
Info: www.knoxschools.org/farraguths
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Shopper News brings you the latest happenings in your community
