Senior Elise Russell swiped on berry red lipstick in front of the school bathroom mirror. She’s dressed in her orange and black tank top and leggings, her hair tied back into a blonde ponytail at the base of her neck. The name “cougars” was proudly written across her chest. 

This was it, her first real performance as a member of the Shawnee Mission Northwest dance team. The first school assembly of the year. Her first time holding those shiny orange pom-poms on the floor of the main gym as students crowd into the bleachers around her. 

Though she’s tried, Russell can’t perform the dances with her eyes closed. She can’t run through their choreography in her sleep. She only felt comfortable with about half the dances. 

She was still new to the team — she made tryouts last March. Russell shook off the nerves that surrounded her as she stretched with her teammates before the gym was flooded with eager seniors and bored freshmen.  

“I mean, as long as you’re smiling, no one really knows if you mess up anyways,” she said.

Five months earlier…

Jazz, hip hop, kick, pom and flag. 

Russell recalled the different dances she had to memorize for her audition. 

Jazz, hip hop, kick, pom and flag. 

For years she watched the dance team girls move in sync from the stands of football games and school assemblies. She’d been awed by their effortless moves and flawless choreography. As her senior year was approaching, though, she wanted to be down there on the football field and gym floor with them.

Russell’s been dancing since sixth grade and attends the Nallia School of Dance. Four of the girls at her studio are also on the dance team, so Russell was persuaded to try out herself. 

But auditions weren’t a breeze. Russell had a week of preparation to impress the judges. She had no idea if she was going to make the team. 

“ we teach them some basics and then teach them a short routine,” dance team coach Christin LaMourie said. “We’re really just kind of looking, ‘Do you have potential, do you have some rhythm? Are you able to learn and pick up the stuff that we’re teaching you?’”

That week was the first time Russell had ever spun a flag. She practiced new choreographies for hours and tried her best to memorize every step. She also met all the new girls who were trying out.