One sport that hasn’t been offered at Scituate High School is dance. This is not because there aren’t enough dancers; instead, no one has taken the initiative to establish a club. This year, SHS juniors Riley Peterson and Katie Long took it upon themselves to start a dance program at the high school.
Peterson and Long have been dancing their entire lives; however, they’ve always had to train at dance schools that are not affiliated with Scituate Public Schools. This separation between school and dance has been challenging for them. Peterson said, “I had a different life after 2:46 PM,” alluding to the countless hours of training she puts in at her dance studio weekly. In addition, her friends and teachers rarely got to see her performances. Starting the club was a no-brainer for Peterson and Long—they wanted to bridge the gap between two of the most important things in their lives.
When the girls decided to organize a school dance club, they asked SHS English teacher Courtney Hayden, SHS History teacher Kelly Trayers, and SHS Special Education teacher Roxanne Griffin to serve as faculty advisers. All three teachers have previous dance experience—ranging from competitions to musical theater—which makes them ideal for the role.
Griffin said one of her hopes for the dancers is to “show off what they can do.” Since most performance opportunities happen outside of school, it is harder for students to watch the talent, skill, and dedication that goes into dance. Trayers, a graduate of SHS, said she remembers “wishing there was a dance team in high school,” so she is ecstatic to see what the future holds for this new group.
The new dance team is making its debut performance on Friday, October 18th, during the halftime show of the SHS home football game against Plymouth South. There will be another halftime performance on Friday, October 24th, during this year’s homecoming game.
All of the advisors and captains said they are feeling “confident and impressed” with how far they have come, especially since the team started only two months ago. Team members are thrilled to have this chance to showcase what they can do, saying they cannot wait to get on the field!