Among sounds of student cheers and drumlines, on Friday, Feb. 2, students were ushered into the fieldhouse gym during flex for the first pep rally of this semester.

“I think it was a lot of fun to support everyone and I’m excited that it was the first pep rally of 2024,” cheerleader Kate Ortego ‘27 said.

Performers, from band and cheer to SunDancers, spent two weeks rehearsing their respective music and routines.

“The best part of the pep rally was knowing all of our stunts were hitting and that everyone was doing well,” Ortego said.

Band performed “Land of a 1000 Dances” by Wilson Pickett for Cheer’s performance, in addition to songs such as “7 Nation Army” by The White Stripes and “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond throughout the pep rally.

“We’ve been playing these pieces for a while because we play them for pep rallies, football games, spirit shows,” band member Soomin Oh ‘27 said.

Later into the event, SunDancers dazzled the audience with a jazz routine. 

“SunDancers performed our novelty jazz piece, which is like musical theater jazz, and it was super fun,” SunDancer Elliott Richards ‘26 said. “We normally perform hip-hop so it was a new and somewhat stressful experience.”

The team would use the same routine the following day at the Leander Winter Dance Competition (LWDC) dance competition.

“As a student part of Warrior Pride, it’s always so fun to attend the pep rallies,” Anushka Gupta ‘26 said. “Getting to see the SunDancers’ new jazz competition piece was definitely the highlight for me.”

This pep rally also featured a student vs. teacher trivia game featuring AP/IB Spanish IV teacher Sra. MilyBett Llanos-Gremillion and Sumner Holland ‘26.

“I think a lot more teacher-student healthy competition should be incorporated into pep rallies,” Sra. Llanos-Gremillion said. “It makes it a lot of fun to have that ability to connect with students outside of the classroom through fun competitions.”