BY ELISA CIOKU
This January, the OBHS dance team started their competition season after preparing the entire school year and performing at the Pep Rally and both football and basketball games. Their hard work paid off on January 21, placing second in the Hip Hop category and seventh out of 13 in the jazz category.
After a long day, the dancers left Hillsborough High School pleased with their work. “I’m proud of the team’s performance in both routines and how hard we worked to make it happen!” exclaimed junior Marissa Celentano.
The second-place finish in Hip Hop, which involves synchronized moves performed by 30 dancers, marked an improvement over last year’s fourth-place finish. “I’m so proud of the fact that we placed second for our hip-hop routine,” shared Lily Kelly. “Everyone was so nervous, but we ended up doing so well.”
Junior Isabella Colombrita gracefully spins and strikes a pose 
Junior Isabella Colombrita gracefully spins and strikes a pose 
Junior Isabella Colombrita gracefully spins and strikes a pose 
Junior Isabella Colombrita gracefully spins and strikes a pose 
Junior Isabella Colombrita gracefully spins and strikes a pose
The team performed phenomenally, placing seventh in the jazz category that featured twelve teams. “Competition season is a little stressful, but it’s very exciting,” said junior Marissa Celentano. “It’s always so fun traveling to competitions as a team and I think it brings everyone closer!” The jazz squad consists of 17 girls who had to try out for their positions.
Last year, the girls performed at football games, but only got to enter one competition. This year, they scheduled three competitions, but bad weather forced the cancellation of the first one originally scheduled for January 7. Luckily, they have another chance to show off their skills this weekend. “Hopefully, we can push ourselves even further and place first at the next one,” said Kelly.
The girls have had all school year to prepare, and now’s their time to show off all their dances. “I expect to have a really fun filled season. Hopefully we also gain more recognition in the high school dance team world,” shared Celentano.
Now that the competition season has arrived, the pressure is rising. “We prepare for them by having practices every Tuesday and Thursday to clean and perfect our jazz and hip-hop dance,” said senior Julia Rowan.
The team started practicing over the summer, working on the dances they perform at halftime of sporting events, a different dance than either of the ones they perform at competitions. “The captains choreograph our halftimes, and we start learning them in August,” shared junior Lily Kelly. The girls ultimately learned three completely new dances this year rather than repeating their numbers from last year.
Former OBHS Dancer, Danielle Valinotti, who choreographs the competitive routines, helps the team learn new dance styles and get them used to different choreography. “Training with Danielle Valinotti has really helped to keep the team motivated, and her dance is a new style that we don’t normally do, so it’s really good to gain that experience,” explained Rowan.
The girls have one more chance to show off their mastery of their dances in competition when they face off against seven other schools this Sunday, January 28, at the Pascack Valley Regional Invitational. You can catch some of the girls performing at OBHS on Tuesday, January 30 during the Play Unified and Girls basketball games.
Posted on 1/24/24
Photos by Kailey Siegel and Dayami Viloria
Knight Life 