Lauryn Rowe (12) has been dancing since she was 5 years old. She originally started doing ballet and tap, but after joining a dance studio, she broadened her horizons: trying out jazz, lyrical, hiphop, and contemporary. She joined the Westview Dance Troupe freshmen year, which kicked off four years of committed dancing for the team. 

“Some of the girls from my dance studio were on the team at the time, and tryouts were really scary as an eighth-grader,” Rowe said. “Having to learn different style and technique combos called ‘across the floors’ was really intimidating when you’re dancing next to people who have already made the team.” 

Dance takes a lot of dedication and effort according to coach Jamie Sanders. As she said, it is basically a year-round sport. 

“Dance is kind of nonstop,” Sanders said. “We do winter show, then competition, and then right away, it’s spring show.”

This year’s spring show, The Four Elements, pays homage to the seniors’  last performance with the team: Lauryn Rowe, Jordan Le, Lauren Pollock, and Taylor Edwards. 

“Basically, with our main theme, the four seniors represent the four different elements,” Rowe said. 

Rowe was chosen to represent fire because of her quick and energetic dance style and personality. 

“I’m a very sharp and dynamic dancer,” Rowe said. “I love working with high energy and fast-paced movements.”

The seniors are not limited to their own elements for the whole show, but can dance all of them: fire, water, air and earth. Sanders said she encouraged variety in the ways the theme was incorporated into the show. While some styles like hip hop would stereotypically solely be included in the fire section, Sanders encouraged choreographers to include a mix of styles throughout all of the different elements. 

“We were talking and said: ‘ok, maybe fire could be lyrical, or jazz, [but] like water could also be jazz,’” Sanders said. “They definitely challenged themselves to have variety in the show, because without it, seeing the same styles over and over again can become a little predictable.”

Rowe said that water, specifically, was a very versatile element in the show.

“Water can have flowy, fluid movements,” Rowe said. “But also, what textures can water take on? Can it be like ice, and a little bit harder and more forceful at times?”

In addition to having the four seniors represent the main elements of the show, there will also be slideshows of the seniors, which they put together, with pictures from their childhood to now, showing their journeys as dancers.

Rowe said that compared to her first show with the team, the preparation for the spring show is much less stressful, and more bittersweet.

“[Previously], it was very nerve-wracking having to learn and execute multiple dances within a short period of time,” she said. “I think for this upcoming show, I’m less stressed, and just more focused on my last moments sharing the stage with my teammates.” 

Rowe said the team has a very close bond, and that she is going to miss the late-night laughs after practices and the genuine friendships she has made in Dance Troupe. 

“We are all super close to each other,” Rowe said. “Dance is a sport where you really have to trust your teammates and feed off of each other’s energy in every dance. I think the team this year definitely had fun and loving energy; it’s been a really positive environment.”

This is not the end for Rowe’s dancing, though. While she may be moving on from high school, in college she will be performing with the UCI Spirit Squad Dance Team, performing at basketball games, volleyball games, and other school events.

“I wasn’t sure I wanted to dance in college,” Rowe said. “But I’m really excited now that I know I made the team.”

While Rowe is looking ahead to dancing in college, the closing of her high school dancing career will be a time filled with a mix of sentimental and melancholic emotions. 

“I definitely think the senior dance holds a special place in all of our hearts,” she said. “After spending all four years together, our [last] dance will be emotional and bittersweet.”