Under the leadership of Tara Barnett and Stephanie Fleming, Sweethearts is the name of the dance team. This year the Sweethearts are celebrating their 41st anniversary.
Not all schools have a drill dance team, but Joshua High School does. Every Friday night, the Sweethearts are on display.
“As a former captain of the Sweethearts, to come home and be a part of the legacy that’s being built and created is really an amazing thing,” Mrs. Barnett said.
Mrs. Barnett isn’t the only person who has an appreciation for what is being created on the Sweetheart’s Dance Team.
“I chose dance because I wanted a place to go that I could call home since my home life wasn’t the best,” senior Kim Cross, one of the lieutenants, said. “I have also always admired dance since I was little and wanted to be a part of a team that wasn’t toxic.”
Multiple generations can also pass on their love or passion, according to senior and Captain Jasmine Panbamrung. Her sister, Taylor, graduated from Joshua High School the previous year.
“My sister joined the team the year before me, and she loved it there,” Panbamrung said. “It was like a bonus home for her. I wanted to experience that too.”
Being part of a dance team is not always laid back, though it can be at times. The pressure and expectations can get a lot sometimes and it gets hard to cope with it.
“I am anxious about not having my costume on correctly and accidentally forgetting the dance choreography,” Cross said.
There are different ways to spend time before the football games.
“I tend to feel super at ease when getting ready for games as well as halftime. I don’t really get nervous or have stage fright since I have been dancing for so long,” senior and Captain Rylie Fleming said. Her mother is Mrs. Fleming, the director of the dance team who has also been a Sweetheart during high school, along with head director Mrs. Barnett.
Not all dancers are relaxed prior to showtime. Each person has different thoughts and feelings.
“My mind before performing at football games can be a chaotic mess,” Cross said. “I typically think about making sure my uniform and hat is secured and what yard line I need to get to. I mark the dance while waiting to walk out with the band.”
Not only on the field but also behind the scenes, the officers have lots of responsibilities such as checking attendance, ensuring that everyone has the correct items for practices and performances, helping teammates with the choreographies and encouraging them to be the best they can and always give 100%.
The process of becoming an officer is long and difficult.
“I was very surprised when I made captain because the prior year I was two ranks below captain; I was a new member representative and it’s kind of rare for that jump to happen,” Panbamrung said.
The team members are not the only people who set goals to achieve success.
“In 2008 I was ranked the number one dance drill team director in America by drill team directors of America,” Barnett said. “But I wanna say my biggest accomplishment is watching the girls that I get to teach grow up to be amazing women doing amazing things.”
Being in charge of a high quality team like the SWEETHEARTS also brings difficulties with it.
“I think the hardest part is making sure that you are, for your dancer, what they need from you,” Barnett said. “Every dancer needs something different and it’s our job to do our best to be that for them.”
Additionally, everyone on the team shares the same love for dancing. The sentiments are similar among all dancers.
“I love it because nothing else matters when you are dancing, the friends you make become family and overall it’s just an amazing thing to be part of,” Fleming said.
This is the same whether they are dancers or teachers, officers or not.
“As a performer I enjoyed just getting to be able to perform for my peers, my family and friends and the spectators in the audience,” Mrs. Barnett said. “To get to share that piece of art with people; it was nice.”
If you are interested in dancing, join a class and try out for next year.
Mrs. Barnett’s advice for aspiring dancers is to “Practice, work hard. Don’t be surprised by the result you get from the work that you didn’t do. You gotta put it in.”
Directors Mrs. Fleming (left) and Mrs. Barnett (right)
