The Bemidji High School Blue Angels jazz team marked a significant return by taking first place in their first home competition in two years, held on January 30, 2024. The team delivered a captivating performance to Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange,” capturing the jazz title against four rival schools. This event was particularly noteworthy, as the Blue Angels did not host a home meet last season due to a shortage of judges.
The head coach, Krista Grover, expressed enthusiasm about the team’s performance. “It was fun; it’s always fun to compete at home,” she remarked. “They’re always more comfortable on their home floor. I think they get a little more nervous, but they get more energy from their crowd because they have more fans here.” This home advantage contrasted with their experiences on the road, where attendance tends to be lower.
In addition to their jazz victory, the Blue Angels narrowly missed a second first-place finish in the high kick category, finishing as runners-up to Bagley by just 0.5 points. In the jazz competition, the rankings followed Bemidji with Hawley, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Bagley, and Moorhead. In the high kick, Hawley, DGF, and Moorhead trailed the Blue Angels.
Coach Grover praised her team’s resilience, particularly in adapting to challenges during the performance. “I didn’t get to watch everyone else, so I can only speak for what I saw from our girls, but they danced really hard,” she said. “We had one girl who was sick and ended up having to sit last minute. They did a really good job of adjusting and making those decisions on the fly.”
The choice of music for the jazz routine posed a unique challenge. Grover noted that “Something in the Orange” was more difficult than previous selections. “It’s in 6s instead of 8s, which is harder to count. The musicality piece of it is harder, and judges will recognize that and it’ll boost the difficulty scores,” she explained.
For their high kick routine, the team opted for a lively mashup of songs by Macklemore, a popular hip-hop artist known for hits in the 2010s. Grover stated, “They just wanted to do something fun this year. We’ve done a lot of themes in the past. They wanted something this year that they could have fun with. They did awesome. They had a lot of energy and they had a lot of fun. They were really pushing.”
The leadership group within the Blue Angels, consisting of seniors Josi Volcke and Audrina Leach, juniors Elise Spaeth and McKenzie Benson, and sophomore Brynn Konensfeld, played a crucial role in selecting song choices, costumes, and choreography. This group will be pivotal as the team prepares for the upcoming Section 4-3A meet scheduled for February 14 at the Target Center.
Looking ahead, Grover acknowledged the competitive landscape will be different this year, as teams such as Sartell, Sauk Rapids-Rice, and St. Cloud have moved out of Section 4-3A, while Alexandria and Coon Rapids have joined. “We’re feeling good, but we still have a lot of work to do,” Grover said. “It’s going to be a tough week. We only have three more practices left… We’ll do lots of drilling, cleaning. We did a lot of our last changes this past week. Now, it’s just clearing it up some more.”
As the Blue Angels gear up for this crucial meet, their recent success at home serves as a motivational boost, reaffirming their skill and dedication as they strive for further achievements in the competitive dance arena.
