By: Calle Caldwell

At the Blizzard Bash pep rally on January 30, the cheerleaders from the PowderPuff match this past fall will return to team up with the Bellbrook Dance Academy (BDA). Eight seniors have joined the official BDA senior team to perform a dance.

The collaboration was born in a Spirit Committee meeting. Bellbrook High School senior and BDA dancer Aly West originally wanted the dance team to perform at halftime for a basketball game, but Spirit Committee advisor Amanda Brenner had an idea.

“Ms. Amanda suggested that we bring back the PowderPuff cheerleaders and combine our dance team with them as a pep rally routine,” West said.

For senior Jeremy Reigelsperger, one of the returning cheerleaders, the decision to perform again was easy. “I really thought it was super fun the first time,” Reigelsperger said. “I was in the Spirit Committee meeting when they mentioned BDA doing something and saw a golden opportunity.”

The routine is set to a Lady Gaga medley, featuring “Telephone” and “Applause.” According to West, the performance begins with a “dance battle” segment to “Telephone,” before the boys and girls merge for a finale to “Applause.”

The choreography, originally performed by a sophomore group, was adapted by the senior team to fit the mixed group.

West explained that they chose easier moves for the boys and slowed the tempo of the dance down, but the cheerleaders are still learning legitimate dance techniques. “They learned how to do a single pirouette, leaps, handstands tricks, pique turns, and just have general coordination with each other,” she said.

Reigelsberger’s favorite part of the routine is a section labeled “Chaos.”

“We have a section where we all split off into our own parts,” Reigelsperger said. “It was tailored to our strengths so it kind of shows off what we’re best at and I like that a lot.”

The performance is highly anticipated by the dancers, the boys, and the students here at BHS. “I think I’m excited to just show everyone the routine we’ve been working so hard on,” Reigelsperger said.