By Anneliese Duong & Natalie Tran
On Monday, Oct. 17, the Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) dance team was notified that they will not be performing in this year’s Bell Game pep rally–just four days before the assembly was taking place.
According to FVHS Dance coach Kelela Batinga, Assistant Principal of Activities and Athletics Hayato Yuuki told her that Dance could not participate in this year’s assembly because they were already “pressed for time.”
The news came as a shock to the team, especially since FVHS Dance had traditionally been a part of Bell Game assemblies and rallies for the past 15 years with the exception of 2020 during the pandemic, according to Batinga.
Batinga expressed her disappointment, after the dance team had already prepared a routine leading up to the Bell Game’s pep rally.
“As a coach, I am bummed because my students are bummed, especially the seniors,” Batinga said. “There is always a quick turn around from the Homecoming assembly into the Bell Game, so we have had choreography prepared since the summer.”
The Bell Game assembly would also traditionally highlight the senior dance members, and with the last-minute removal, students including senior Alexandria Tran, felt that the decision was unfair.
“Since it’s my senior year, I was especially disappointed to hear that dance team would not be performing at this year’s Bell Game assembly since we have been every single year,” Tran said. “Seniors usually get a special highlight in our Bell Game performance as well, and it feels like we were deprived of that this year since we have been waiting for it throughout our time on the team.”
The dance team performs not only for themselves, but to help encourage school spirit.
“We have always loved the opportunity to cheer on and hype up our school for our sports teams,” Batinga said.
At the time of publication, Assistant Principal of Activities and Athletics Hayato Yuuki had not replied to Baron Banner’s requests for an interview. We will update the story as we get more information.
