Dancers Put on Top Performance of Year

In the short history of the Woodland athletic program, there have only been a handful of teams that have finished in the top three at state competition. But the last team to accomplish that feat wasn’t the football squad in 2005; in fact, the Woodland dance team has achieved it twice since then, most recently capturing a third-place finish in the jazz division of the state dance competition on Feb. 28.

Coach Michele LoRusso’s Hawks entered the competition at Branford High School last Saturday with 12 teams opposite them in their jazz division: Bristol Eastern, Brookfield, Daniel Hand, Ellington, Fairfield Ludlowe, Greenwich, Masuk, New Milford, North Branford, Oxford, Seymour, and Shelton. Upon arriving, the girls set a goal for themselves.

“Before the season, we wanted to do better in states than what we did last year,” senior tri-captain Jessica Alfredo said. “But we don’t normally set specific goals until we see the competition. So when we got there, I said that if we could place in the top five, I’d be really happy.”

Well, the Hawks did a little bit better than that. Woodland bested all but two of its competitors--including defending state champion Masuk--to grab a bronze-medal finish at states. The Black and Gold finished third only to runner-up Shelton and champion Brookfield. But there was no regret or sour grapes among the Woodland dancers; the only emotions they felt were of jubilation.

“We were really proud of ourselves,” Alfredo explained. “It was such a good way to end the season. I don’t think any of us thought, ‘we could have done better if we did this.’ We were just so proud….Those two teams [that finished ahead of us] are very deserving of those places. Shelton especially has an amazing team.”

The maximum length of the routine is two minutes, thirty seconds, and Woodland’s program is slightly less than that. The girls start off in groups to the Broadway jazz song, “Fever,” showing off various technical abilities, such as needle points, second leaps, and heel stretches. Then, those groups merge to form one large group, performing synchronized twists and turns through more modern songs, such as Rihanna’s “Disturbia”.

The Hawks received their highest scores of the season, and easily beat their fifth-place finish at last year’s states (the third-place performance equals the team’s achievement in the first-ever state competition in 2007).

But the end of the routine was a little bittersweet for the team, especially the three senior tri-captains, Alfredo, Leah Persano, and Ena Linton.

“I was holding my ending pose and I started thinking, ‘This is my last time ever dancing with this Woodland dance team,’” Alfredo said. “We have become so close this year. We didn’t even finish walking off the floor and everybody just started crying.”

“We all cried together,” Persano noted. “Usually it’s only a few girls--the seniors and anyone who was really close with them. But this year, every one of us was crying. I think that says something about how close we became this year. It’s like we were more than just a team; we became a little family….Although I was unable to perform [due to a leg injury], I couldn’t be happier for the team.”

The departing seniors want their “little family” to keep improving and continue what they started this year.

“If the team can improve as much as they have from last year to this year, they’re going to be awesome next year,” Alfredo said. “I want to come back next year and see them win first in states.”