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Guest Opinion
Tigerettes take avid sports fan to another level
(Soapboxes are guest opinions from our readers, and anyone is welcome to write one. David Gillaspie is a Tigard resident.)
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The ladies behind me, a row from Pendleton, ran a commentary on costumes, hair, make-up and dancing. They sounded like they knew their stuff. One of them said the teams are judged on technique, spacing and alignment, precision, choreography, floor patterns, maneuvering, projection, repertoire and musicality. Each category is worth 100 points. She handed me her rule booklet.
The ladies really liked Tigard. One of them said Lincoln beat their team after their only title.
Was it a good show? Just the best show of any school event, coming from someone who has seen extraordinary middle-school plays, choir performances and guitar class concerts. One team after another transformed a basketball court into the biggest stage in the state. It felt like a Broadway show, a Radio City Music Hall review and Cirque du Soleil without the acrobatics. After the team competition, I wondered how high school girls could be so good, so exact. Then I saw the drill down.
Girls from every team filled the court and waited for it to start. Drill down – the winner is the last dancer standing.
The girls lined up in dance fashion and the caller gave the first order. According to the OSAA Dance and Drill Handbook, the caller in drill down can call any of 25 orders for the dancers to execute. I’ve seen square dancers and I learned to march in the army, but drill down is beyond them both. Every move the caller orders has protocols within them and missing anything means disqualification. When only the finalists are left, the scrutiny increases – no mistake is missed by the judges.
The last two standing were Tigard’s Kelsey Cline and Eilise Ward from Cleveland. The caller gave an order and the girls obeyed. One of them got it wrong – one of the judges missed it.
The cruel way of crowning the team champions played out at the end. The teams gathered together on the floor. The winners were announced by playing their theme music. There will be some who will never hear John Lennon’s “Imagine” the same again.
Lincoln came in fourth this year. Tigard broke through after five tries. The celebrations exploded like fireworks with brightly costumed dancers flying all over.
In the end it was all Tigerettes as the Pendleton mom’s predicted, with three dancers singled out for special honors. Elissa Boudreau, Kelsey Cline and Brittany Domstrand are All-State dancers on the champion Tigard Tigerettes.
How do high school girls get so good? It reminded me of the joke where one person asks, “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” and the other answers, “Practice.”
Saturday night the Tigerettes had the answer.
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Reader comments
Re: Tigerettes take avid sports fan to another level
As a former Tigerette myself, I know how hard it is to get out there year after year and give it all you have. For the past five years, the Tigerettes have given everything, along with each of the other teams, and finally it was their time to shine. It is great to hear someone from outside the "dance team family" take the time to appreciate the hard work these teams put in year after year. We all take the floor hoping to hear our song played in the final moments of the awards ceremony, but no matter how we place in the end we remember the team that got us to where we were the moment we step on the floor and hear the crowd. The fellow dancers who helped us stretch and pushed us when we didn't think we were capable of any more movement; the parents who supplied car rides, sewing skills and unconditional support; the fans who waited for us to return to the school with or without a trophy and loved us anyways; the competing teams giving hugs and words of encouragement despite the competition. Those people make up the team that will always live in our hearts.
Thank you, David, for becoming part of the Tigerette team, as well as the Dance Team family. It is the most loving and supportive group I have ever been blessed enough to be a part of. For anyone who has not had the chance to take in the OSAA State Dance and Drill Championships, make it happen next year. The teams work extremely hard and truly dance to entertain their audiences. Congrats to my Tigerettes and to every other competing team at state. It truly was an honor to take the floor with each and everyone one of you and dance the tried and true "One" routine. Best of luck to you all in the coming year! Be proud of what you have accomplished and continue to push the limits of dance.
"Caitlin"
(email verified)
Thu, Mar 20, 2008 at 04:33 PM
Re: Tigerettes take avid sports fan to another level
Can you write something for the Eugene area, they don't seem to know how.... sad really.!! They don't even know we exist here, and Churchill won the 5A small and "Sheldon won the 6A small with several All-State members. we only received about 30 words in the bottom corner or the Register Guard while all the other sports have pages on pages.....
Your article was AWESOME and nice to see you writing about it. Please continue..
"Jan Phaigh / Churchill High School"
(email verified)
Thu, Mar 20, 2008 at 04:43 PM
Re: Tigerettes take avid sports fan to another level
Great story and a well written soapbox article, but I have to wonder why the comparison to a sport? I see dance as part of the art world, more than the sport world. Yes this was a competitive event. Yes, the team and participants are athletic. It seems that much more of what makes dance special is the art and expression of performers. I would argue that you could find more “athletic” girls in other sports, but you will not find ladies that can express the art elements of dance any better than these dancers.
As the article on the front page states, “The team beautifully executed a near flawless routine with strong emotion. Dance officials and coaches described the final performance on Saturday night as, “unforgettable” and “one of the finest performances at state ever seen.” In sport you are penalized for showing too much emotion – in art, you are reward for expressing your emotions via your instrument. The instrument in this case involved young women’s minds and body’s.
Dancing and wrestling do have many common elements as you point out, but so does dancing and band or theater – have you ever seen how much time these folks commit to their “sport”?
It is time we stopped comparing everything in high school to a sporting event/athlete. Congrats to these young women (and man!) for their accomplishment. Maybe it would have been better to see the publicity in the arts section – does The Times have an art section?
"Tiger Supporter"
(email verified)
Mon, Mar 24, 2008 at 12:14 AM
Re: Tigerettes take avid sports fan to another level
To the person who does not see dance as sport. Dance team is a sport; a team sport. It belongs on the sport page. If it makes it easier for you, think of it like gymnastics or skating-both Olympic sports.
Again, congratulations to Tigard-this was your year. Congratulations to all the competing teams in all divisions.
I wish there was some consistent policy on dance coverage. It seems that all the papers (all owned by Pamplin) handled it differently. Tigard had the most, but where was the coverage for Sherwood for placing? There was some coverage for Gresham. But I didn't see any for the Beaverton schools, Westview, Valley Catholic and Sunset.
"Laurie"
(email verified)
Mon, Mar 24, 2008 at 05:35 PM
Re: Tigerettes take avid sports fan to another level
I am not sure it will be as easy as you make it out to be Laurie!
Take a look at the following article: http://www.eijkhout.net/rad/dance_other/olympic.html
Until dance becomes a medal sport in the Olympics, I will still stand firm on dance as art. Interesting article that seems to address both sides of this debate well.
Don't get me started about press - the NCAA Wrestling Championships were just completed and did not even make the Oregonian, not to mention the local press. This is even in the face a the University of Oregon cutting the sport! I think we would all agree that this sport is one of the oldest Olympic events and merits little press.
Regardless of your position on this subject one thing is clear - these girls deserved more press than they received and so do many other less recognized programs in our high schools.
Maybe the Times can help address this issue and make a difference!
"Tiger Supporter"
(email verified)
Tue, Mar 25, 2008 at 01:47 PM
Re: Tigerettes take avid sports fan to another level
Is dance a sport? The answer lies in how dance is combined with sport. Ice skaters, except for hockey players, compete to classical music while performing dance routines. The floor routine in gymnastics is a dance routine. Rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized swimming are dance routines. The Olympics are full of dancers with hoops, string, water, mats, and ice. The only thing missing from dance at the Olympics are dancers on a dance floor.
How does dance mix in with other sport? Early NFL films had the voice of God, also known as John Facenda, intoning the magical words "On the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field..." followed by a series of slow motion football highlight clips showing grown men knock the bejesus out of each other with Brahms playing in the background. The violent ballet defines the limits of human tolerance to playing with pain as the men collide first with each other, then with the ground.
Anytime movement is set to music a transformation occurs that all athletes recognize. And yes, dancers are athletes. Ask one if they played other sports and you might hear classic soccer, water polo, or softball.
As far as wrestling and dance are concerned, I saw both championships at the Memorial Coliseum. Yes, there were similarities. Both events had participants fill up the floor. Wrestling had the Walk of Champions and dance had the teams out for the Chorus Line routine. Most of all dance fans and wrestling fans share more than I would have guessed when viewing competition. Dance fan comments on presentation, technique, and routine. Wrestling fan comments on conditioning, technique, and attack. Both fans have a common base.
Of any two sports, dance and wrestling could stand to become more entwined in high school and college programs. The intersection where these two sports meet bring a greater appreciation for the sacrifices and effort the athletes display.
Any question about dance as sport is answered by a quote from the Dance Drill Coaches Association of Oregon:
“True competitors derive their greatest pleasure out of playing against the very best opponents, even though they may be outscored. The difficult challenge provides the rare opportunity to be their best."
That's a good pep talk for any sport.
"David Gillaspie"
(email verified)
Thu, Mar 27, 2008 at 04:29 AM
Re: Tigerettes take avid sports fan to another level
You know you have been successful in your delivery when folks start complaining about something positive that is being brought up. Great kudo's to the gal from Churchill for recognizing someones appreciation for what occurred during the competition on that Saturday afternoon. Nice job brother in bringing this event to the publics eye.
""
(email verified)
Sat, Mar 29, 2008 at 10:25 AM
Re: Tigerettes take avid sports fan to another level
good article, Ireally enjoyed it
"Michele"
(email verified)
Thu, Mar 20, 2008 at 08:50 AM