On Tuesday, Dec. 2, the intense four-day-long tryout process for Sundancers began.

It was a long and stressful, yet fun week for dancers to come together and share their passion for the sport.

From Tuesday through Friday, 41 hopefuls rose early in the morning, meeting in Westwood’s auxiliary gym from 7-8:30 a.m. New material was taught daily by the current Junior and Senior Line Officers.

“The audition dances were a little challenging, but I felt like I knew them,” Baby Sundancer Garima Singh ‘16 said. “Somehow, I managed to keep my nerves down during the auditions, so I didn’t freeze up in the middle, which was good.”

The two different combinations taught varied in style and technique. The first was a Jazz/Kick routine to the song “What You Know,” by Two Door Cinema Club. In this high-energy dance, students were challenged by quick-paced steps and were pushed to maintain their stamina.

The second was a Contemporary routine to “Sort of,”by Ingrid Michaelson. This routine contained more technique, and required dancers to connect to the lyrics of the song and express their emotions.

“At first it was confusing to learn the dances because it is hard to pick up the routines that quickly, but once I got to go home and practice they got easier and I started enjoying them more,” Baby Sundancer Chrislyn Shepard ‘18 said.

In addition to performing the two routine in front of a panel of four judges, it was required to go “across the floor” with pirouettes and leaps.

On Dec. 5, the long awaited audition day arrived. The morning rehearsal served as a mock audition to help dancers release some of their nerves. Actual auditions began at 5:00 p.m. Groups of four girls performed each routine for the judges, rotating after each piece was presented.

“I was very nervous for the actual audition, but also really excited to show what I learned,” Baby Sundancer Liliana Assaf 18’ said.

It was about a 3 hour long process, and after the auditions, the atmosphere buzzed with nervousness and anxiety. Everyone was released at 8:30 p.m., and hurried home to see the results, which were posted shortly after at 9:00 p.m.

“I was extremely excited and so happy to find out that I made in,” Singh said. “I got really nervous right before the results came out, so I was also really relieved when I saw my number there!”

Sundancers have added 12 new babies (the endearing term for brand new Sundancers) to the team. There are nine freshman, Khira Patel, McKennah Robertson, Sarah Minjarez, Chrislyn Shepard, Rain Quintero, Liliana Assaf, Ellie Despain, Sydney Busfield, and Brooke Culp; two sophomores, Leah Wu and Morgan Thomas; and one junior, Garima Singh.

“I wanted to join Sundancers because I really like to dance, and now I’m looking forward to bonding with the other Sundancers and dancing on the field next football season!” Leah Wu ‘17 said.

All the girls’ hard work and dedication has paid off and they will now they be put into their own “baby” class for second semester. There, Ms. Shelby Kelly, the Sundancers’ director, will train the dancers for Escapade and ensure that they are prepared for next year’s football season, where they will become official members of the team.