Synergy’s new coach, Jennifer Holmsen, introduces new ideas and fresh perspectives. Holmsen, a professional dancer of forty years, shares her experience and inspiration, “ I was lucky enough to travel the world as a professional dancer performing for various venues and shows for 20 years. I worked for some of our local Vegas venues and traveled afar for some well known venues, such as Moulin Rouge in Paris. I always wanted to pursue my passion for education so once I retired from the stage, I started a new chapter as an educator… I feel very lucky to have this opportunity to bring dance to this school and community.” As Holmsen moves forward in her coaching career she hopes to inspire Synergy’s dancers. “ This is an art form that comes from passion and love for dance. It takes hard work and a lot of repetition to become a good team. Our driving force comes with many positive aspirations and reminders of good feelings that we can spread with our artistic minds and high energy. I am very fortunate to be a part of the joy that the students bring into the dance room daily. It brings life to my soul and I strive to share these experiences.”
As the year continues Holmsen makes numerous changes to the team including new costumes, performances, choreography, significantly adding to the size of the team, and even “attending our home athletic games with school spirit on the highest level.” Mia De Jesus (12), one of the captains on the dance team, shares, “students can expect exciting performances from us. We haven’t had a team this big in years and visuals and formations that we’ve been wanting to do can be put into a reality now that we have a bigger team… we can finally do more with our performances.” Additionally, one of Synergy’s other captains, Francine Andrion (12), elaborates, “students can expect to see us at more events such as basketball halftime games and just being more involved in the school…”
On top of a significantly larger team and more involvement, Synergy stands out among its competitors in many other ways. De Jesus elaborates, “our chemistry 100% separates us from other schools. I feel like all of us get along. While I haven’t had the chance to get to know all of the newest members yet because we had to jump straight into dancing and less of team bonding, I feel like we all have similar interests and all can have fun and insightful conversations. Our chemistry and friendship not only supports our team but can be seen from an audience perspective. I feel as if chemistry makes a performance more interesting because you can tell that everyone truly enjoys what they are doing along with the people they are with.” Part of the reason that the team’s chemistry excels when compared to other teams is the sense of trust and support each dancer has in one another. Andrion explains, “something that separates us from other schools is that we are co-Ed (male and female dancers) and student-led. We don’t have any choreographers come teach a piece. All of our dances in each performance are made either from captains or anyone on the team! Our coach does tell us and give us pointers but other than that it’s completely student led!”
Synergy’s returning dancers and captains take pride in their leadership stemming from the student-led team. Because of inconsistent leadership and three different coaches over the past three years many student leaders procured the opportunity to emerge and flourish. Mckenzie Gidge (11), a three year returning dancer shares, “having inconsistent coaching has helped me become more flexible as a dancer and as a leader. It has helped me learn to work around inconsistencies and helped me grow… having so many coaches has caused so much chaos and confusion over the past three years and has created a feeling of anxiety within the team so our captains and returning dancers have had to step up and lead us and we are very grateful for them.” Andrion, a two time returning captain shares her perspective, “Inconsistent coaching has helped me develop into a leader by having me take charge. The past year it was quite unorganized so me and the other captains, Jackie and Mia, would have to take charge to make the team work as best as possible. It was definitely hard at first as it was our first year being captains, no experience at all, and a new coach.”
As the school year continues, Synergy continues to grow with it. Through new coaching and the team’s leadership, Synergy steps past all of their unique challenges and expects to flourish as a team, community, and performers.
