Preparations for a Packed Season
The St. Kate’s Dance Team is hitting the ground “dancing” ahead of their 2022-23 season
By Lauren Trowbridge
With the beginning of a new school year comes the beginning of a new season for many sports. Athletes are shifting their schedules to accommodate practices, tournaments, workouts, matches or competitions. Even with those who don’t have their seasons until winter or spring, the start of a semester means they go into practice mode, or in the St Catherine University dance team’s case, rehearsal mode.
The 2021-2022 Wildcat Dance Team
After a successful 2021-22 season, with a Nationals top-five victory under their belts, the dance team is looking forward to proving themselves yet again. I spoke with Emma Proefrock ‘25 (Public Health) about her team’s hopes, goals and excitement for their 2022-23 season.
Proefrock has been on the St Kate’s dance team since her first year here, making this season her second. “I was recruited by a former high school teammate of mine who came to dance at St Kate’s. She referred me to our coach, and I’ve been here ever since.” After such a whirlwind first season, with the first Nationals trip since Covid and their success at the competition, she’s excited to see where this season takes their team. “This year in particular, the team feels like a family. You always get really close, and I love the team environment that we have going.”
On a typical week, the dance team practices Monday, Wednesday and Saturday for two to three hours and does strength and conditioning work on Friday mornings. “Our schedule isn’t as tight as other sports; our practices are structured more like a club,” Proefrock remarks.
Their formal season doesn’t start until mid-November, with the team performing at basketball halftimes through January, but they have a fall show on Saturday, Oct. 8. “It’ll be the first time we’ll be performing our new routines,” Proefrock says. “We had a choreographer fly in from LA at the beginning of the semester, and we had two five-hour practices to learn our whole routine. We’ve just been polishing it since then. It’ll be cool to debut it in front of an audience.”
Jazz Choreography day
Top Row (left to right) Ellie Shields ‘26, Grace Roscoe ‘26, Brooklynn Richardson ‘26, and Derrick Schrader, choreographer. Bottom Row (left to right) Lauryn Swanson ‘26, Alex Nelson ‘26, Emma Proefrock ‘25, Trista Peitz ‘25.
On top of their halftime performances, the dance team has the opportunity to perform and compete at both regional and national competitions this season. However, this year is going to look a bit different. “Last year, we danced under the Poms division,” Proefrock says. “This year, we’ve moved to the Jazz division, which means we’ll be dancing under a new scoring system and in a new pool of competition.” The dance team will be competing at the Xcel Energy Center for Regionals on the weekend of Feb. 3, and will be flying to Anaheim, Calif., for Nationals over the week of Feb. 23.
Despite all of the pressure of looming competitions and performances, Proefrock’s eyes remain on her team. “Our main goal of the season is to grow together,” she says. To stay up-to-date with the Wildcats’ progress as they move into their season, be sure to follow them on Instagram @stkatesdanceteam and show your support at their performances. They’re sure to be a hit!
