One move flows into the next one as the Bellevedettes go through their dance routine. They’re repeating parts that need to be improved, or changing moves to help the dance flow more smoothly. They’re using a metronome to stay on beat. As they get better, the beat gets faster until they can replace it with the song. When the Bellevedettes are done with one routine, they take a quick water break and then move on to the next song.

At Bellevue East High School,  there are cheerleaders, a band, guard, and dancers to help show school spirit at football games, basketball games, and parades. Spectators do not see the hard work that goes into the performances that the team executes on the field or in the gym.

“It’s an outlet for a lot of students and I think it gives some sort of school spirit that not a lot of schools have the option to have,” head dance coach Jade McNeill said.

As Bellevedettes, the team participates in many activities throughout the community to help represent Bellevue East. The team does this by participating in walks and parades.

 “We do the Arrows to Aerospace Day parade and the Veterans Day parade,” senior Carson Rollings said. “We do the Susan G. Coleman walk every year. We also do some volunteer stuff once in a while.”

Being a part of the community is important for students who are on the spirit squad. This helps inspire the next generation of dancers.

“I definitely think being a part of your community is very important because it gets you involved,” freshman Julianna Wright said. “It’s also very nice to be in your community and get to know everyone. I feel like we do a lot of dancing but it’s nice every now and then doing something for the community.”

The hard work comes way before trying out for the dance team. Before students are picked to be on the team, they have to participate in tryouts.

“I think being committed and passionate about what you’re doing definitely makes you a strong dancer,” McNeill said. “If you’re not committed and you’re not passionate, it can show in your moves.”

Wright and Rollings both have experience in dance prior to high school. Both Wright and Rollings were in a studio before coming to Bellevue East.

“In the studio, it was a lot more technically focused and I did jazz, tap, and ballet,” Rollings said. “It was a lot more focused on cleaner and sharper [moves] and pointing your toes. For the team, we do hip hop, so it’s more hitting the moves and looking like you’re having fun.”

Even though Wright has danced in a studio, it is still good to be on a school dance team as practice for college dance. Being on the dance team at East can help Wright with her plans for the future.

“At my studio, there are three people who were on the UNO dance team,” Wright said. “I would like to try out and be on [the team] so I should get some dance experience before I go to college, so I thought that it would be really fun. Also, I know I wanted to dance and most high schools have dance teams so I decided to do that.”