This past Saturday, April 19, the Green Level dance team hosted a prep clinic for students interested in trying out for next year’s team. The clinic welcomed both current high schoolers and eighth graders, giving them a chance to experience the team’s environment before tryouts.
According to junior Addison Leahy, who has been on the team for the past two years and helped run the clinic, it was designed to help dancers adjust to the expectations of being on a team. “The main goal of the prep clinic was to just see new people and get them more comfortable with being in a team setting,” she explained. She also noted that the clinic introduced key elements needed for tryouts, including various kinds of turns, leaps, and extensions.
The clinic was structured to give dancers experience with both technique and performance. Participants rotated through stations focused on different skills before coming together to apply what they learned in routines. “We split up into groups to do different areas of skills and technique, and then we did sideline dances and kind of just performed in groups,” Leahy said, describing how the clinic was organized.
Leahy played an active role in helping participants feel more comfortable throughout the clinic. “My role was mostly to be acting like a new member, to make others feels comfortable, but also answer questions for new members,” she said.
With so many new dancers attending, creating that sense of comfort was one of the more difficult parts of leading the event. “The most challenging was probably just talking to everyone and making them feel comfortable,” Leahy said. “It was a new setting for most people, so it was super important that we made them feel at home.”
The clinic also gave dancers a chance to meet the team’s new assistant coach, Elise Staponkus. While still adjusting to the change, Leahy said the experience has been positive so far. “So far, she’s been really nice, and even with the adjustment, I can’t wait to work with her more,” she said. Staponkus graduated from Green Level two years ago and is taking a gap year from UNC Greensboro to help coach the team here.
For students considering trying out, Leahy emphasized both effort and building connections within the team. “I would just tell them to become friends with everyone,” she said. “No matter if you make the team or not, you’re still going to meet these people some way or another.”
Overall, the prep clinic helped dancers get a feel for the team while preparing for tryouts in a low-pressure environment. For many attendees, it was a first look at what being part of the Green Level dance program is really like.
