Alexander Martinez
AT Journalism Student
The Blazettes are headed for an exciting new year after performing for Addison Trail’s roaring twenties-themed homecoming on Oct. 9 after a long socially distanced year.
Coaches Melissa Morales, Enza Spilotro, and Lori Irvin led the Blazettes through practices twice a week all for the crescendo of their homecoming performance. Beforehand they have a “homecoming bootcamp” making sure all aspects of their dance are in sync.
Although that is not where all their hard work went into. The Blazettes have been performing for many events such as football, soccer, and basketball.
For the coaches they hope that the girls’ hard work will also go to the new competitive dance team tryouts starting this year.
But practice makes perfect, for dance groups the size that the Blazettes are, it is very difficult to perform together as synchronized as they do. One of their greatest keys to success is their bond together.
Morales said “the girls are like a family.”
Their bond and relationships are what give them that extra step in order to improve their performance.
Leaders in the Blazettes like Lilyana Hernandez cherish her favorite memories from the Blazettes. “Such as the team’s excitement after one of the soccer games, being perfectly in sync with our kickline, and it made everyone really happy,” said Hernandez.
Ixcel Mondragon, Captain of Blazettes, always loved performing. “I performed at a pep rally and I absolutely loved the energy everyone in the crowd and on the stage had,” said Mondragon.
Mondragon has learned a lot being in the Blazettes. “Being a captain is not easy, so the Balzettes have taught me to always keep working hard,” said Mondragon.
Other Blazette leaders like Domenica Dugo talked about the overall closeness of the group describing their most cherished memories of the girls as always about, “bonding with all the other girls and becoming like a family with them,” said Dugo.
The Blazettes help the growth and development of the Addison Trail student in a variety of ways. “I have learned how to have patience and how to be more confident,” said Hernandez.
Blazettes like Dugo are really proud of the work they have done with the Blazettes “I have learned to always give effort and hard work really pays off,” said Dugo.
Although the group is very close to each other this would not be the case without the coaches. They make sure that the girls are always participating in different ways to bond because of its essentialness in dance.
Activities like “big sis, little sis” allow the girls to show their appreciation towards each other by making posters for each other and hanging them on each other’s lockers. They always make sure to celebrate everyone’s birthday as well. This ensures that drama never becomes a problem and everyone actively participates and respects each other.
Blazettes love being in their program and actively encourage people to join them. “The experience of being on Blazettes is like no other and has been so amazing especially for me. I encourage many others to join and just enjoy it always,” said Dugo.
