With a state championship in Jazz Funk and 4th place in High Kick under their belt, this year’s dance team is going into the upcoming season with optimism. Despite graduating eight seniors, the lineup is still strong with another eight seniors this season and numerous team veterans who will lead the team with confidence, along with many talented freshmen and junior high students joining the program.

This year’s team has a new twist, however, that has come with the selection of a rather unusual song for their jazz routine. Usually an upbeat, high tempo song would be expected for this style of dance, as seen last year with their dance to the song “Hang Time,” but this year the team has chosen “Say” by John Mayer, a slow paced, lyrical song.

This is a contrast to years previous; it is a relatively slow and smooth song, giving the Knightette dancers a challenge when it comes to style and choreography. Besides dancing with sharp quick movements, the girls are mixing in a more lyrical style moves that had some of them nervous. “At first we were a little uncertain about the song; it’s a different style than we have ever done before, but it’s coming along nicely,” said senior Annemarie Hittler.

The first Jazz Funk competition will be held Tuesday, November 25 at Columbia Heights High School, giving the team only a month and a half to prepare. “It gets stressful because you have to master this entire dance and you don’t have that long to do it,” said sophomore Maddy Moore. However, the Knightettes believe that with their unique new style and song selection, they should have an advantage over the competition. “We are doing something unexpected, and I think that will add a more competitive edge to our season,” said Hittler.

Despite an unusual choice for a jazz song, the teams high kick song is relatively normal. The song by Cascada is a techno version on Hoku’s “Perfect Day.” The girls will compete this dance for the first time at St Francis High School on Thursday, December 4. The team has strong hope this year to medal in High Kick at state, but has lost their roster number from 28 dancers to 22. “It is a positive and negative thing,” said junior Brett Threlkeld, “with less girls the formations aren’t going to be as visual, but on the other hand our dance will be easier to clean and unify.”