Sweet Home’s dance/drill team qualified last week for the state championships but the Huskiettes won’t know till later this week if they can compete.
That’s because, Assistant Coach Spring Burr explained, one of the Huskiettes’ five team members can’t be there on one of the days the state championships will be held, so it will depend on when Sweet Home is scheduled to compete.
The Sweet Home dance/drill team is a combination of students from the Sweet Home and Central Linn school districts.
As the season winds down, the team is made up of junior Madison Olheiser, sophomores Luci Kennedy and Madalyn Murray, and freshmen Delaney Broullett and Elena Briggs. Kennedy is home-schooled and competes for Central Linn in other sports, but since the Cobras don’t have dance, she competes with the Huskiettes.
“We all get along really well,” said Olheiser, who joined the dance/drill team last year.
This is Kennedy’s first season.
“I have done cheer, never tried dance, so I’m excited for something new and different,” Kennedy told a reporter earlier this year.
Burr described the Sweet Home team as “small but dedicated” and said they show “great promise,” committing to 5:45 a.m. practices throughout the fall and winter sports seasons.
Burr and Head Coach Amy Offutt are Sweet Home dance alums, both of whom have coached dance for some 20 years, a lot of those at the Junior High. They took over the high school program three years ago after it had been brought to a standstill by a number of factors, including COVID.
“It’s coming back to life,” Burr said. “The first year we had two girls; last year we ended with four and this year we have five.”
They spent the fall and winter teaching choreography and skills, and then, this month, they’ve competed twice.
“We’re hoping to build the program,” Burr said, noting that the Huskiettes were able to perform during two recent basketball games, which gave them exposure. They will hold tryouts in May.
“Whenever we perform, it builds interest and people get to see exactly what it’s about.”
The Junior High also has a dance team, slightly larger than the Huskiettes.
“That is really helpful to have that program, to have kind of a feeder for ours,” Burr said. “We’re excited about their potential because they bring experience.”
This year’s theme is a throw-back to one the coaches performed to when they were in high school: AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck.”
“We really want to try bring back some of that old-school rock ‘n’ roll energy vibe. That was kind of the vibe that the team had when Amy and me were on team,” Burr said.
The Huskiettes need five dancers to compete at state, so it will depend on the scheduling whether they get there or not, Burr said.
– Kristine Banker contributed to this story.