For the Love of Dance: A Look at "The Senior Fives"

The Senior Fives is a dance group made up of 11 dancers who train at the Freehold Academy of Performing Arts (FAPA). The group got an incredible chance to perform on MSG Varsity’s “Talent Show” on April 24, and while they did not make it to the semifinals, The Senior Fives are not going anywhere. 

The group is made up of three seniors, six juniors and three sophomores who attend school within the Freehold Regional High School District, which the represent in competition. Two members hail from Manalapan Township, Chanel Fargesen and Lindsey Fierro. 

Fierro, 17, is the leader of the group, which is proficient in many types of dance including: tap, jazz, ballet, modern, lyrical, acrobatics, and pointe. 

Fierro, who has been dancing since the age of three, said all of the members of The Senior Fives began dancing at a very young age. Several of the members have expressed a desire to pursue dance as a career, some may continue to dance in college, but all dance for fun, according to Fierro. 

While the Senior Fives only formed one year ago, all of its members have been dancing with each other for about four years.Before the Freehold Academy of Performing Arts opened in 2003, the Senior Fives members came from different dance studios throughout the area. 

The group has been dancing together for three years and has grown extremely close to one another. “We’ve created a lifelong bond,” Fierro said. “Dancing at FAPA has become a lifestyle for us. We dance there 20 hours or more a week.”

MSG Varsity, Cablevision’s iO Channel 14, aired “MSG Varsity’s Talent Show” which put up 32 teams of solo vocalists, vocal ensembles and dance ensembles in a televised competition. Hosted by “American Idol” semi-finalist Jared Cotter, the audience voted for their favorite performers to advance to the next round. The show premiered on Sunday, April 17 and runs until Sunday, June 10. 

“Our experience was great at the show, it was very different from what we are used to,” Fierro said, in regard to performing on “MSG Varsity’s Talent Show”. “We’ve never danced as a group in front of a camera before for television, so that was definitely something that was new and exhilarating for us.”

The Senior Fives usually compete in front of judges and get graded, but have never before participated in a competition that required audience involvement and outside voting. 

When asked if the group would participate in more televised competition, Fierro said that the group would be willing to partake, but is not actively seeking other opportunities. 

“At this point, we are very involved with dancing at our studio and it is very difficult to balance what a television show entails,” Fierro said.  

Outside of “MSG Varsity’s Talent Show”, the group competes at a state, regional, and national level. Last year, the group competed in Nationals in Las Vegas and this upcoming summer they will head to Nationals again, which will be taking place Hershey Park, Pennsylvania. Dance studios from throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico send groups to compete at Nationals. 

It’s not so easy to get into The Senior Fives. All of the members had to audition to get into the company, and based on skill level, were placed in various groups; The Senior Fives is the highest skill set within the Freehold Academy of Performing Arts.

The Senior Fives:

• Lindsey Fierro
• Alexa Timo
• Caitlyn Farrell
• Samantha Benerza
• Yahna McPherson
• Caitlin Garry
• Jackie Ferre
• Darby Owen
• Chanel Fargesen
• Marc Ferre
• Nicole Ostraszewski 

After the group members graduate high school, they will move on in their dancing careers and no longer be able to compete with FAPA. However, the bond between the dancers is so great and the affinity they have with their studio is so strong that FAPA alums return to the studio to help out in various ways. Dancing is what the group members are passionate about, Fierro said, "we love it."