Ranger dancers improve on state floor

Forest Lake dance team’s jazz routine came in last at state, but saw score improvement

In front of a crowd of thousands at the Target Center, the Forest Lake dancers showcased their Section 3AAA runner-up jazz routine to “Got It In You” by Banners during the state dance tournament on Friday, Feb. 16. But despite the large venue, the team just felt the presence of each other.

“[What] we really focused on going into state was just keeping ourselves connected into each other and staying calm and consistent,” head coach Rachel Kilpela said.

Kilpela, herself, performed on that state floor as a Forest Lake dancer about a decade ago.

“In that specific venue, things tend to feel really big and far away,” she said. Instead of becoming overwhelmed by the grandness of the event, she said, “It felt like it was just us on the floor.”

The team finished last amidst the competitive crowd of 12 teams competing for the Class AAA jazz title, landing behind 10th-place Blaine and 11th-place Spring Lake Park, the latter of whom the Rangers had beaten in the Section 3AAA competition. Five of the eight judges placed Forest Lake 12th, with two judges placing Forest Lake above Spring Lake Park, and one judge tying them. Spring Lake Park came out ahead in the final ranking system. (Dance team juggernauts Wayzata, Maple Grove, and Eastview clinched first through third places, respectively.)

Yet as Kilpela watched the dancers perform, she said: “We felt really good about their performance. As a coach it was really the best we could ask for.”

With a goal of beating their sections performance score total by 1 point, the dancers left the floor feeling great about their performance, and ended up beating their score total by 2 points.

“It was such an incredible experience. The kids absolutely loved it, and as a coach, it was fun to see the kids just shine,” Kilpela said.

The road to the Target Center was filled with a great deal of hurdles, including losing 10 graduating seniors last season, many of whom were on both the kick and the jazz squads. In the summer, varsity dancer Lucy Dunaway tore her ACL, effectively ending her season, and during the season, the team lost a couple of dancers to moves.

After a two big first-place victories at the team’s home invitational in early December – including beating out section rivals Spring Lake Park and Centennial – the team hit some speed bumps.

Going into the Suburban East Conference championship dance meet, the team had yet to beat conference and section rival Mounds View in the jazz category.

“Usually we have at least one win under our belt with conference finals,” Kilpela said.

Then just the day before conference finals, Kilpela got the news that varsity dancer Liz Severin had a hamstring sprain that would put her out for most of the rest of the season, as well.

“Every time we turned around, it felt like something new popping up,” Kilpela said.

The three invitational meets the team attended in January included some disappointing finishes, as well. But the team worked hard for the Section 3AAA meet on Saturday, Feb. 10, when it clinched second place above Spring Lake Park, sending the jazz team to state for the first time since 2015.

“To end the season at state in itself is such an incredible thing, but then you throw in the things we felt we pushed through, too, and it is even more so.”

Throughout the season, the coaches pushed the team hard in improving their technique. That work showed on the dance floor, reflected by consistently increasing scores, especially in the leaps and jumps category, bumping up to getting more 7s from getting more 6s (out of a possible 10).

The team also worked on the routine effectiveness category, part of which includes the team’s performance energy and expression.

“We talked a lot about telling a story and projecting that story, and projecting [facial expressions],” Kilpela said.

That work also showed benefit as scores bumped up, getting more 8s in the category (out of a possible 10) than 6s and 7s.

“We’re really proud of that routine effectiveness,” Kilpela said. “It’s one of the easiest sections to get points, but you actually have to work for those points.”

The team loses six graduating seniors this year, but Kilpela has high hopes for continuing onto the state floor again next season.

“I have all the faith in the world in this team,” she said.