Dance Team: Tigers step it up





The Tigers won three trophies at the Farmington Invitational

It's been a busy couple of weeks for coach Lindsay Jensen and her Tiger Dance Team.

Two weeks ago the girls hosted their annual invitational meet at Tiger Gym where the varsity team finished runner-up to champion Bloomington in kick and fourth in jazz funk.

The news from the junior varsity meet was even better where the Tigers roared to a first place finish in both kick and jazz.

"The dancers had a lot of fun and enjoyed performing at FHS!," coach Jensen said.

This past weekend the Tigers made an appearance at the Prior Lake Invitational where the varsity took eighth in kick and ninth in jazz.

The JV squad had another good outing, taking fourth in kick and fifth in jazz while improving their scores for the second straight week.

"This was a great competition to see what we will be up against in the sections," coach Jensen said. "Rochester, Bloomington, Prior Lake and and Lakeville North are all in our section so we can use these scores to prepare."

The section meet will be held Saturday, February 8, at Bloomington Kennedy.

The Tigers perform at the Prior Lake Invitational

Dance: Scores up at final Missota meet

Scores continued to rise at Missota Conference finale

Tiger  Dance Team coach Lindsay Jensen said she would have liked to have seen her team place a notch or two higher in the final standings at the Missota Conference meet held last weekend at Chaska but was encouraged by the rise in its scores.

Farmington finished sixth in kick and seventh in jazz at the final Missota Conference competition of the 2013-14 season.

"We had some tough competition at this meet," Jensen said, "but our scores continued to increase. At our first invitational this year we had a total of 249 points in jazz and Saturday we had 284. In kick we began the year with 278 points and this time we had 329.

"We are looking forward to working on our technique and kick difficulty at practice this week to continue to increase our scores at our invitational this weekend," Jensen said

Farmington will host its second-ever invitational meet Saturday at Tiger Gym with competition in both A/AA and AAA divisions. Twelve teams will be participating.

The meet begins at noon and concludes with an awards ceremony at 4:30.

Dance Team: Tigers move up at Missota Jazz

The Tiger dance team performed at a recent basketball game (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tiger dance team moved up a spot in the standings with a fifth place finish at the Missota Conference Jazz competition held Thursday night at Holy Angels.

Last week the girls placed sixth in the Missota Conference High Kick meet at Shakopee, their first league competition of the year.

The Tiger JV also ranked fifth at the meet held in Richfield.

"We were very happy with our results," Tiger coach Lindsay Jensen said. "We have increased our points in jazz technique and execution (placement and control). We will focus on improving our routine difficulty for our next competition."

Saturday the Tigers head to Chaska for the Chaska Invitational.

Dance Team: Tigers open at Burnsville

Farmington opened its 2013-14 season under first-year coach Lindsay Jensen Saturday with an appearance at the talent-laden Burnsville Invitational.

The Tigers placed sixth among seven teams in Kick and fifth among five in Jazz. The Tiger Junior Varsity took fourth among four teams in Kick and fourth of five in Jazz.

Overall, coach Jensen said she was pleased with her team's first outing of the season.

"We were up against some tough teams," she said. "Many of them have placed at the state competitions in past years. Our dancers brought positive attitudes and lots of energy and that's what we needed.

"This was a good first competition and we can only go up from here. Tuesday night we go to Shakopee for the first Missota Conference Kick meet where we hope to see our scores increase."

Dance Team: Tigers young and eager

Captain Alexis Johnson

The 2013 Tiger Dance Team will feature a new head coach and a varsity roster that doesn't include a single senior.

Lindsay Jensen, a 2007 Farmington High School graduate, takes over the program this winter after serving as varsity assistant coach at her alma mater the past two years.

Jensen, a fifth grade teacher at Riverview Elementary School says she is excited about her new position.

"I want to contribute to the same team that I have been part of for six years," she said.

Not only are there no seniors on the 23-member varsity squad, only five performers are upperclassmen: juniors Alexis Johnson (captain), Maddie Reed (captain), Jacquelyn Smithson, Sarah Gasior and Taylor Huntley.

Other team members include sophomores Amanda Lathrop, Erica Beck, Macy Savisik, Makayla Ford, Morgan Rubin, Courtney Kruse, Maddie LaVictoire, Morgan Felty and Taylor Deplazes; freshmen Kerstin Wetterstrom, Lauren Darrington, Mara Laxdal, Jacquelynn McKinney and Makayla Zinnel and eighth-graders Kaitlyn Whitehill, Abbey Egerstrom, Jenna Gray and Kamryn Stevenson.

"We have 15 returning dancers from last year and eight new ones," Jensen said. "I am anxious to see what the future holds for these athletes at they develop into a strong group, both mentally and physically, in the upcoming years.

"Our goals for this year are to continue to work on individual dance development and skills, have fun and be confident at each performance and competition."

Captain Maddie Reed

Jensen said she didn't necessarily want to define her team's success in specific numbers but rather stressed the concept of season-long improvement.

"Our sport is very subjective but increasing our scores for both jazz and kick would be a success for us," she said. "Success is always giving your best effort.

"I always tell the girls when you walk off the floor you should be able to tell yourself  'I gave everything I had; that was the best I could do'."

Brittany Dahlberg (varsity assistant) and Amanda Sterna (junior varsity) will serve as assistant coaches this winter.

The Tigers open their competitive season Saturday, Nov. 23, with an appearance at the Burnsville Invitational.

Dance Team: One kickin' season

(photos by Jim Lindquist)
The young FHS Dance Team didn't accomplish all of its goals but according to coach Shelby Kuphal the 2010-11 season was a rewarding one.
Farmington finished third in kick and sixth in jazz to capture fourth place in the Missota Conference competition and ranked seventh in kick and 11th in jazz at the Section 1AAA meet.
"The girls worked very hard to come as far as they did this year," Kuphal said. "They practiced three-and-a-half hours a day, four days a week with an occasional three-hour practice on Saturday. With all of that they still had to balance their homework, friends and family...They are now understanding the benefit of hard work and determination."
Twenty girls received varsity letters at the team's post-season banquet and only two were seniors: Madi Cook and Ashlye Mattei.
Underclassmen winning varsity monograms included juniors Kayli Rudeen, Shelby Schillerstrom, Alysha Stoeffel, Julie Tang and Nikki Webster; sophomores Alexis Bailey, Morgan Elliott, Ashley Fogarty, Cassidy Gerber, Megan Grengs, Chloe Halvorson, Cortney Hilton, Haley Luffman, Izzy Neal, Alexis Preese, Katie Wahl and Katie Zitzmann and freshman Annie Grengs.
Kuphal also recognized the season-long efforts of seniors Jeni Friedrich and Jerica Kamin; junior Kelsey Erickson; sophomores Kaitlyn Betzold and Emily Peetsch; freshman Rachel Mozey and eighth-grader Morgan Bass.
Team captains Cook and Mattei each landed a spot on the all-Missota Conference team while Stoeffel earned all-league honorable mention.
Cook claimed the team's Most Valuable Player award while Preese won "Most Improved" honors. Bass was the junior varsity MVP and Casie Doring the most improved dancer. Zitzmann won Rookie of the Year distinction and Stoeffel received the Tiger Award.
Kuphal recited a long list of team accomplishments, both on and off the floor, including finishing third in kick in the conference; moving up six places in kick in the section; gaining confidence in its jazz routines and winning Academic All-State recognition (team grade point average of 3.5 or higher).
Off the floor, the girls also conducted their first clinic for youth in grades one through eight; volunteered at Feed My Starving Children and wrapped gifts for the Toys for Town fundraiser.
"Our only disappointment was jazz," Kuphal said, "but we'll get there in time. We have been focusing on getting kick to the top and once we're there, we'll look to jazz."
With the team losing only four seniors to graduation, Kuphal said she is looking for more improvement next season.
"The girls need to work on their skills and technique in the off-season," she said. "If we want to be competitive in jazz we need to be confident in our higher level skills.
"We will continue to focus on kick technique next year and hopefully we'll see another jump at sections."
Though she loses only four dancers from this year's team, Kuphal said Cook, Mattei, Friedrich and Kamin will be difficult to replace.
"Their inner drive and hard work was commendable," she said. "You very rarely heard them complain. They set their minds to making the best out of their last year and they accomplished it."

Dance Team: Tigers 7th in Section 1AA

The Tiger Dance Team closed its 2010-11 season with a seventh place finish at the 14-team Section 1AA meet held Saturday, Feb. 12, at Bloomington Kennedy.
Coach Shelby Kuphal was pleased with her team's performance as it represnted a big jump from last year's 13th place finish.
"The girls worked very hard in the two weeks leading up to the section," she said. "They really brought a strong performance to the floor. It was a perfect way to end our season.
"We're going in the right direction and we are able to set goals for next year based off of our scores. We know what we have to do and understand the time and commitment it requires."

Dance Team: Tigers 4th at Missota Conference competition

(photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington finished fourth overall at the 2011 Missota Conference Dance Championships held Saturday, Jan. 15, at Holy Angels. The Tigers placed third in the six-team meet in kick and sixth in jazz.
Holy Angels won the kick competition, followed by Chaska, Farmington, Chanhassen, Shakopee, and Northfield. Chaska took top honors in jazz, followed by Holy Angels, Chanhassen, Northfield, Shakopee, and Farmington.
"Our points improved significantly in both kick and jazz and the girls are really stepping it up," Tiger coach Shelby Kuphal said.
"I'm really proud of how hard our girls have worked and they are constantly looking for ways to improve!"
The Tigers next meet is the Cannon Falls Invitational scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 3. The Section 1AAA Championships take place Feb.12 at Bloomington Kennedy.

Dance Team: Tigers sixth in Missota Jazz

After finishing second in kick and third in jazz at the Prior Lake Invitational on Jan. 8, the Tiger Dance Team had an off day at the Missota Conference Jazz competition held Tuesday, Jan. 11, at Shakopee.
Chaska won the meet, followed by Chanhassen, Holy Angels, Northfield, Shakopee and Farmington.
"The team performed well," coach Shelby Kuphal said, "but unfortunately it didn't show in the scores.
"With Chaska and Chanhassen joining this year, our conference is very tough and as a team we really struggle with jazz."
Kuphal said the coaching staff simplified the team's jazz routines for the Prior Lake meet and it seemed to pay dividends not only in the score book but also in the outlook of the dancers.
"We had girls saying things like 'I love to dance jazz'," Kuphal said, "'and I had so much fun."
"We plan to slowly add back in the more difficult skills that will make us more competitive, but the bummer for our team was that on Tuesday night the judges didn't see our routines like they did at Prior Lake."
The girls now have just two days of practice before their big Missota Conference meet scheduled for Saturday at Holy Angels.

Dance Team: Tigers 3rd at Missosta high kick competition

After finishing fourth at the Burnsville Invitational in its season opener on Nov. 20, the Tiger Dance Team picked up the pace to place third at the Missota Conference High Kick meet held Saturday, Dec. 6, at Northfield.
Six of the eight conference schools--Holy Angels, Chaska, Chanhassen, Northfield, Shakopee and Farmington--competed at the meet.
"The girls have learned to control their energy and place their movements," coach Shelby Kuphal said. "They now need to to control their nerves and personal mistakes.
"They are improving every time we perform and becoming more confident on the dance floor."
Both the Tiger varsity and junior varsity team that placed second in its competition, dedicated their performances to junior varsity dancer Allison Pingley who was recently diagnosed with viral meningitis.
"She is our model for strength as she fights this disease so she can dance with us again," coach Kuphal said.
Next up for the Tigers is the Eastview Invitational scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 11.