Shining both on and off the field, the Westmont Dance Team has twelve members who perform many styles, most often including pom, jazz, and hip hop. Under the direction of coach Sarah Stults, the team practices five and a half hours a week on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays to prepare for their performances. Most often student-choreographed, the dance team performs routines at football and basketball games, along with rallies and competitions during the spring. Senior and Captain Kelly Marshall speaks on her growth throughout her experience on the team explaining that, “Becoming one of the students to one of the teachers has been important to me because it’s also been sort of a way to show how much I’ve learned and how happy I am to pass on what I know.” Marshall has been on the team for the past three years, and describes her favorite aspect of the experience as, “Being able to work together to learn, teach each other new things, tend to each one of our different strengths, and be able to do what we love — to put on a performance.” This positivity fostered by the team is further expressed through the dances learned at practice with Kelly explaining that, “seeing the result of everyone equally working so hard to put together a dance makes it worth it.”
Sharing the bright uniforms and sparkly poms, it’s a common mistake to mix up the cheer and dance teams. Co-captain and junior Kaitlynn Wu addresses the key differences between the two with cheer including stunting and tumbling while the dance team remains focused on dance technique and artistry. Kaitlynn comments on how to support and better prioritize the dance team saying, “People can attend our fundraisers or auditions or anything we host. We’d love to see more Westmont students attend and receive more recognition from the school, so people can understand the difference between us and cheer.” The dance team is excited to continue this season and perform for Westmont students at upcoming games and events, and invites anyone interested to audition for the 2025-26 team in April of next year!
