Poly’s 2024 dance team has already begun performing at sports events, including homecoming and Blue Devil Night. This year’s team is currently composed of eight dancers, and led by their two captains: Olivia Sperling ‘26 and Angelique Lopez ‘26.
Sperling and Lopez have both been dancing from a young age, and continue to enjoy the art. Sperling shared, “I took ballet classes when I was three, and I did dance for 10 years… I also did gymnastics for almost 13 years.” She continues, explaining that she spent six days or 20 hours of her week doing both ballet and gymnastics.
Both captains also have sisters with whom they grew up dancing with. Lopez has a younger sister she currently duets with at a dance studio outside of school. Sperling has an older sister who used to be a part of the Poly dance team during her senior year. Sperling explained that when her sister graduated highschool, Sperling was just graduating eighth grade. It was then that she auditioned for the dance team. “I was inspired by her to join it, because it looked so fun. I really wanted to do it.”
In addition to Lopez’s performing, she also teaches dance on the weekends. Lopez teaches the younger children ballet, tap, and acro dance. She follows this class by teaching “an older class” of dancers following the younger groups.
The Poly Dance Team incorporates mostly hip-hop dance routines in their performances. While Sperling’s past in lyrical and gymnastics helped her be more of a coordinated person, she never took a hip hop class. “But I love doing it,” Sperling commented.“It’s so fun. And I think also through my freshman and sophomore years – being a member of the dance team – I got a lot better at hip hop, and I realized that I liked it.”
Lopez and Sperling both explain that the captains for the following years’ team are traditionally chosen by the previous senior captains. Lopez continued that “there weren’t any upcoming seniors for this year on our team, so Sperling and I [ultimately were chosen] as the next [captains].”
Although both Sperling and Lopez have a passion for dance, as co-captains it can also be an area that holds a lot of responsibility, specifically when it comes to logistics and organization. Sperling explained that events and music have to be organized with the help of “Mr. Turner, Mr. Winston, and Coach McNally.”
“Also, we need to be able to choreograph these dances for the team to learn,” Sperling added. “We have deadlines, and need to make sure that everybody learns it and knows it, and everyone shows up to practice. So a big part of it that’s really hard to maintain is communication with the team.”
As auditions draw closer – scheduled for Tuesday, October 29 – Sperling and Lopez are hoping interested dancers will try out for the team. Lopez shared, “The dance team is very small this year. There’s only eight of us… and we need more people. So hopefully we have more people after auditions.” Sperling continued, “We’re used to a bigger team, but we had a lot of seniors graduate. So I think auditions are gonna be really exciting… I think we’re gonna get a lot of new people, and new talent.”
