By Tessa Nacke
Disclaimer: Tessa Nacke is a current member of the FVHS Song Competition Team.
The Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) Song Competition Team made history this season by qualifying for finals at the National level at Dance Team Union (DTU) Nationals in Orlando, Florida.
“[Traveling to Florida] has been one of my coaching goals for a long time,” coach Abby Server said. “We entered a very prestigious competition, but just traveling out of state and not competing against teams that we normally would compete against is a big deal. I’m very proud of the kids and the parents and the program for making it all happen.”
The FVHS Song Comp Team performed in two categories this year: Small Varsity Pom Advanced and Medium Varsity Jazz Advanced. This already was a challenge for the team, as it was their first time competing in the Advanced category. Both categories were extremely competitive, going up against “legacy” teams such as Edison High School, Rosary Academy and Los Alamitos High School.
“[The team was] kind of nervous about being in the advanced category,” Server said.
Despite their nervousness regarding the season, the team practiced tirelessly, quite literally putting their blood, sweat and tears into these routines. The team had practices every week, averaging about four hours of practice since September.
“The level of precision and specificity that is needed [for pom] requires anywhere from 10 to 15 hours a week in order to be successful … And we only practice two days a week for two hours each, so four hours a week,” Server said.
Despite their obstacles, they continued to add on practices leading up to the competition, including five a.m. to seven a.m. practices, which some call “two-a-day.”
Thankfully, the extra practices paid off. Out of 32 teams, FVHS qualified for finals, the highest level of competition that DTU offers. FVHS was also the semi-finals champions, further securing their spot in the highest level of competition.
“It feels really good knowing that we were the ones to do this because we worked so hard for it last year, and we all decided that we wanted to do it and we actually made it happen. I loved it,” Miller said.
In the Pom category, seven dancers performed a high energy routine to a remix of popular music, utilizing strong synchronization and pom visuals. These pom visuals are a specialty of FVHS, and boosted the overall performance score, leading them further into finals.
“[The fact] that we even made it to finals was amazing,” Miller said, “We all really worked hard and it showed and it paid off. I just love them all.”
This experience was truly life-changing for many of the girls, and definitely has the potential to form a lasting legacy for FVHS Pep Squad. This legacy has been a goal of the team for a while, and it was thoroughly satisfying for them to have this dream fulfilled.
In addition to the legacy set by the team in pom, the jazz category excelled at USA Nationals in Anaheim, California. In this dance, nine dancers performed a beautiful jazz lyrical piece to the song “With a Little Help from My Friends” by Joe Cocker. This dance speaks for itself, and truly pays homage to the team culture and love that radiates from the girls.
“All the girls are such good friends. They have been since they were freshmen and it still continues now,” Server said. “So I think [jazz] just really encapsulates what the team is about and what this year is about,”
It is evident when watching this team that they all truly love each other. Their cohesiveness movements and upbeat attitude translates to beauty and grace onstage, and their love for dance touches every audience member.
“I’m just really proud of the kids and the parents, and I want to thank the school for allowing us to go in everything that we do,” Server said. “We want to continue to represent Fountain Valley well and to make a name for ourselves.”
