Clarkstown North Dance Team Receives Trophies, Certificates

Nobody wanted to give up their pants.

Some clung their folded purple pair of pants to their chest, while other pairs were squished between a hug. One or two teardrops might’ve even ever so slightly dampened the pants before they were due back, but they were most certainly due back.

On Wednesday, the Clarkstown North High School Dance Team met in the auditorium for the last time this season to return their jackets, pants, tops and shirts to their coaches. But they didn’t leave empty handed, either. The team was given trophies for winning the dance ensemble competition at the inaugural MSG Varsity Talent Show.

Out of 36 teams, eight were picked to perform, and those performances were played on TV and online. The eight teams were broken up into groups of two, and the group that received the most votes online during the voting period advanced into the next round.

Joe Lombardi, MSG Varsity regional manager, was on hand to present each member of the team, the two coaches and North itself with a trophy. He also gave all the girls on the team MSG Varsity t-shirts and a box to put their trophy in.

“The bonds you form with the other girls on the team are amazing,” said Kelly Park, a junior at North and member of the Dance Team. “But to win something and get a trophy is great, too.”

Lombardi also gave the school a picture of the girls competing, which Principal Harry Leonardatos said will hang  in the school next to a big banner made for the finals of the competition that all the girls signed. He  just has to find space for them both.

Rockland County Legislator Frank Sparaco (R-Valley Cottage) then presented the team and coaches with certificates congratulating them on their accomplishment.

“The community is all very proud of you,” Sparaco told the team. “We know how much hard work and dedication it takes to maintain grades and participate on a sports team.”

And so on Wednesday the dance team’s season officially came to a close, a season in which they performed at school basketball and football games, and even at halftime of a sold-out Knicks-Nets game at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ after placing second in an eight-team competition.

“The excitement of performing at a game is amazing,” said Jackie Andrasko, a junior on the team.

They started practicing in August, which was actually the start of high school for the team’s two freshmen. Molly Ludlow, one of the team’s freshmen, tried out last spring while she was in 8th grade. She said her older teammates took her in immediately.

“We were practicing in the school in August, and after practice they’d walk me around and show me where all my classes were going to be and where everything in the school was,” Ludlow said. “And once school started I knew where everything was, and I had all these juniors and seniors saying ‘hi’ to me when we passed in the hallways.”

Terri Ludlow, Molly’s mother, said her daughter has been dancing since she was 3-years-old, and has always wanted to be on a dance team. Luckily for Molly, she attends North when she does, because this was only the third year there was a dance team. One year before that there was a dance club and nothing prior to that.

“I felt there was a need in the school for a dance venue,” said Coach Stacie Bolin, who has coached the team all three years and was in charge of the club for its one year.

Bolin said the girls wanted to compete, but dance wasn’t recognized as a sport at the time. So they made a pitch which included a PowerPoint presentation created by the girls on the team, and were named a varsity sport. Things like the team making the PowerPoint are the reason both Bolin and Peggy Finch, the team’s assistant coach, said the girls are really enjoyable to coach.

“They’re all drive and self-motivated,” Finch said. “We only had like two weeks to practice for the MSG competition, and they were practicing seven days a week.”

Both coaches also said the team has a really good chemistry. “There is no drama on this team,” Bolin said. “They never want to leave each other. As you can see, we gave them their trophies and awards, they handed in their clothes, and they’re still [in the auditorium] just hanging out with each other.”

But still, even with a motivated team that gets along really well, there were some challenges during the season.

“We don’t practice with mirrors, so the girls can’t see themselves when they’re practicing, which makes it difficult to see if they’re doing something wrong. Peggy and I have to be their mirrors during practice,” Bolin said. “Instead, we’re practicing in this gross cafeteria, with ketchup and syrup all over the floor.”

Bolin said in the team’s four years, it’s grown from where the first year she didn’t have to cut anybody. This year she estimates she had to cut between 10-15 people to get the team down to its 17 members, 12 of whom are on the competition team.

“A lot of the other coaches have also taken notice of us since we’ve started,” Bolin said. “Coaches of other teams at the school will tell me how much they enjoy having us perform at their games. We add some spirit to the school.”

It’s not just the coaches who are praising the coaches, though, as the parents of girls on the team also think very highly of Bolin and Finch.

“They are led by two women who are incredible,” said Maria D’Aquino, whose daughter, Alyssa, is on the team. “They really let each girl hone in on their individual skills while helping to bring them altogether for the team.”

D’Aquino is the team mom, whose responsibilities include taping the team’s performances in competitions and at games. She also said the two coaches really mentor the girls, which Terri Ludlow agreed with.

“I don’t know any other coaches who are concerned about the complete individual as much as this team’s coaches,” she said.

And so, within a half hour of the awards ceremony ending, the girls all handed in uniforms, said their goodbyes and went their separates ways for the summer. Five of the girls on the team are graduating seniors, but the rest will, presumably, be back next year to dance some more and defend their title.

“I just can’t wait to see everyone again, and meet the new girls on the team,” said Molly Ludlow. “And just to see what new dances we’re going to do next year.”

The Clarkstown North Dance Team:

• Jackie Andrasko 
• Jenna Balavram
• Kimberly Ballard
• Lauren Barkachy
• Hannah Brinkman
• Christina Connor
• Alyssa D'Aquino
• Gabrielle DeLucia
• Casey Esbin
• Jenna Feuerstein
• Brielle-Monet Lipstein
• Molly Ludlow
• Caitlyn McIntyre
• Emily Mandel
• Celine Nicolas
• Kelly Park
• Melissa Sumadchat