The audition process for the JV Warrior Pride dance team began on Tuesday, April 17, spanning over a period of three days. Hopefuls performed across the floor techniques, such as pirouettes and leaps, as well as a dance to “Kill the Lights.”

Every day, current Pride members stayed after school in the small gym from 5 p.m to 7 p.m to teach the students who were auditioning. To start off, Pride members were assigned to specific groups and auditioning dancers were given a number that determined the order they would audition in.

“The Pride members were very patient with us and they weren’t afraid to tell us ways to improve,” Nivrithi Kuttava ‘21 said. “ [With their help] I felt more confident than before, when first learning the dance.”

After learning the entire dance on the first day, dancers returned on the second day for a mock audition. The mock audition helped students prepare, gave them a better understanding of how the real auditions would work, and enabled each group to recognize and fix any mistakes.

“The mock auditions helped show me what the judges would be judging on,” Mehak Satsangi ‘19 said. “It also helped me be prepared for what was coming next and it gave me a feeling of what I should work on.”

Finally, on the day of the auditions, Warrior Pride members first demonstrated the dance for the judges. Afterwards, the auditions began. The dancers were dressed in black with a number card attached to their chest as they stood in line to audition in front of the judges in groups of four. While the groups waited to be called, they ran the dance to refresh their memory. The dancers performed twice in order to ensure that the judges were confident with their decisions.

“I felt confident [before I performed in front of the judges] because all the mentors were able to help us and prepare us for the actual audition,” Srishti Kannan ‘21 said.

On Friday, immediately after school ended, results were posted. Out of 43 hopefuls, only 15 made the team. These new members would once again return on the following Monday to receive their pin to wear around during school.

These are the students who will be dancing with Warrior Pride next year:

• Diya Kapoor
• Olivia Chen
• Catherine Franco
• Iliana Sharp
• Sakshi Dhavalikar
• Anaya Kashikar
• Maureigh Cantu
• Shristi Kannan
• Lauren Smith
• Aylin Tanriverdi
• Claire Johnson
• Nivrithi Kuttava
• Mehak Satsangi
• Lily Sayre
• Claudia Indriago