With a new coach in the position, the PHS Dance Team is brought back to life. Kelsi Koritnik stepped up to the stage and took the job of highschool dance team coach. 

“I danced on the dance team all through high school,” Coach Koritnik said. “After I graduated, I knew that I wanted to be a dance coach someday. I love having a dance team as an option for an extracurricular activity. Dance team can be an outlet for students who don’t love other organized sports but still want to be part of a team.”

All of the current dance team members are also on the same team in their dance studio. Many of them have been dancing together for years and have a great connection with each other.

“I think that the team members work really well together because they also work for many hours at our studio,” senior Anna Smith said. “We have the ability to make a really good comeback if we keep working hard.”

Because of the already established closeness of the team, many of them are excited to continue building good relationships with everyone and dance itself.

“I think it’s a very positive environment here,” senior Kinsley Braten said. “You have a coach that lifts you up, you have girls that are very supportive of you. It just makes this experience a lot better.”

Students have joined the dance team for various reasons. 

“I think it’s like a really good opportunity, you know,” junior Brittney Wambeke said. “I can use this in college and have it in my future instead of just ballet where it’s harder to go further with that in professional fields.”

Even for those who don’t want to pursue dance, it can still bring others joy. Dance is a staple in most of the athletes’ lives, so this team is another way to let them express themselves.

“Dance has always been the biggest part of my life, so being on the dance team brings me so much joy,” freshman Cayleigh Douzenis said. “There is a feeling about being on and leaving your heart out on the dance floor with every routine that brings instant happiness.”

Dance team is still in the beginning stages of creation and has a long way to go.

“This year is going to be a rebuilding year,” Coach Koritnik said. “My goal is for the dance team’s presence to be known. I want students and members of our community to be aware that we have a dance team and that we are here to support the athletics at PHS. I want students at PHS to want to be part of our dance team so that we can grow and make the program one of the best in the state.”

Dancers have been preparing for their upcoming performances, including their first one, which will be during the Homecoming assembly.

“I hope that we surprise the school and make a name for ourselves,” Smith said.

Before they perform for the first time, Coach Koritnik is already focusing on the future of dance and how to advertise the team.

“This year we were on a short timeline to get the word out about the dance team, but my goal is to hold tryouts in the spring,” Coach Koritnik said. “Hopefully this will allow more students to attend tryouts. I also want students to know that they don’t need to have prior dance experience to try out in the spring. I encourage anybody who wants to be part of a team and has any interest in dance to come out and try out in the spring.”