By Camelia Heins, Elise Tran & Karen Phan
A plan to merge the FVHS dance and pep squad teams was abandoned last week after it was met by intense protest from dance team students and their families. The merger, which would have combined the currently separate groups into a single program called Sideline, was canceled two days after it was announced.
“Although our intentions were to strengthen our two programs through a merger of Song and Dance, we see that there are many aspects that require careful consideration,” Principal Morgan Smith wrote in an email on March 4. “We will not move forward with the proposed merger.”
The protests that prompted Smith’s email began shortly after the dance team first heard about the changes on March 2.
Dance advisor Kelela Batinga started a change.org petition to FVHS administration titled “Save the Dance Team!” on March 4, which had 2,076 signatures by the time it was closed. In the petition, Batinga listed “several key components” of dance that would be eliminated if dance and pep squad merged, such as reduced teams and members, limited soloist opportunities, no assembly-only option for dancers and fewer competitions.
“I also knew that it was a possibility a lot of the dance team wouldn’t make the Sideline team next year, breaking up our family,” dance captain and song member senior Natalie Levesque said.
Dance captain senior Taylor Tran said that along with the petition, there had been plans to hold meetings with FVHS administration and HBUHSD with dancers, parents, booster members and coaches.
“I think regardless of who was behind this idea, our advisor, coaches and boosters should have been included in the decision process out of respect and common courtesy,” Tran said. “It shouldn’t have been made behind closed doors.”
Emails from dancers, parents and alumni to protest the decision were sent to Smith and Assistant Principal of Activities and Athletics Kelly Skon, dance captain senior Amanda Kane said.
“This was very heartbreaking for me as well as the whole team. We are an extremely successful and hardworking team,” Kane said on March 4. “I don’t think they [understood] the difference between these two programs… Combining us both would not benefit either team.”
Pep Squad was informed of the merger a day after the dance team, on March 3. Some members were “on board with the idea” and “ready to welcome dance team in with open arms,” song captain senior Delaney Hoenig said.
“At first I was definitely surprised, but the more I thought about it, it made a ton [of] sense. We’re the only school in the district that has a cheer, song and dance team,” Hoenig said.
Likewise, cheer captains seniors Madi Campbell and Kate Rochow said cheer was open to the decision to merge.
“At first, I was extremely confused and upset because I was told that there would be no dance team at all, but once my coach and [FVHS] admin explained that the [two] programs were just merging, I was fine with it,” Campbell said.
However, the pep squad captains agree that keeping the teams separate is the best course of action given the dance team’s opposition to the merger.
“Ultimately, I just want what’s best for our school and what the student body wants,” Hoenig said.
When Smith sent out the email to dancers and their families stating that the merger would not happen, Tran, other dancers and pep squad expressed their relief after hearing the news.
“To say I was beyond thrilled is an understatement,” Tran said. “I knew eventually our voices would be heard. Still, there was some uncertainty as to why the decision was made in the first place, especially without our involvement, but at the end of the day, my team was gonna stay a family and that’s what mattered most.”
According to Smith’s email, no coaching staff had been released and the current staff on all three teams will continue leading the programs.
“We are proud of both the Song and Dance teams here at FVHS and recognize the hard work that both groups put into their craft. We appreciate the dedication and support from students, staff and parents,” Smith wrote. “The passion that you all have is evident and helps make FVHS so great!”
Batinga did not respond to a request for comment that Baron Banner sent on March 7.
Baron Banner asked Skon a series of clarifying questions about the proposed merger and its subsequent demise. She responded with this statement:
“The vision of FVHS is to support the success of our programs. We wanted to build on the success of both Pepsters and Dance to create a Baron Spirit Squad, with the ultimate goal of creating a powerhouse group. Our vision was to align to the collegiate model in which cheer and dance are under the same umbrella. Under this umbrella, both Cheer and Dance would work together under the same advisor. No group (Pepsters or Dance) was being eliminated. All coaches would have remained and no one was going to lose any coaching position at FVHS. Students from both Dance and Pepsters would have continued to have high caliber coaching that was tailored to their specific skills and interests. Ultimately, the proposal to build a Baron Spirit Squad was taken off the table so that more information could be considered. The FVHS administration values our students and will continue to focus on building school spirit in all aspects of our campus.”
Justin Hsieh contributed to this story.
