Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) has long had its own performance team (EPPT), a non-competitive dance group that performs in the fall at school and sporting events.
Starting this fall, Central Middle School (CMS) will also have its own dedicated team to give students the chance to experience what a performance team is like.
The CMS team will be coached by EPHS dance and performance team alumna Paige Zawicki.
“I am so thrilled to expand all that Performance Team has to offer to this younger crowd,” she said. “It will not only give them a taste of the high school experience, but will give them something that is theirs, and a sense of belonging as well.”
Adding that the team will be “something fun and different for them to look forward to in the fall,” Zawicki said, “I can’t wait to see their excitement as they get to share their routine at a game or two and be a part of their dance journey.”
The CMS performance team season will run from Sept. 17 to Oct. 10. Practices will be from 4:15 to 5:25 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at CMS, for a total of eight sessions.
The team will also perform choreographed dance routines at EPHS football and soccer games, CMS events, the annual EPHS Performance Team Showcase on Oct. 5 at Aerie Stadium, and more.
There will be no tryouts – all dancers are welcome. The cost to participate is $100 ($80 activity fee and $20 participation fee). Registration is open now at this link. Questions can be directed to epptcoach@gmail.com, and more information is also available on Instagram.
Emily Ophus, the head coach of the high school performance team who is also an EPHS alumna and former dance teammate of Zawicki, said the CMS team will allow middle schoolers to learn the fundamentals of performance team with students their own age and with convenient practice times.
If they enjoy it, she said, it will also help them prepare for joining the high school performance team starting in ninth grade. Meanwhile, interested seventh and eighth graders can also audition in the fall for the EPHS dance team (EPDT), which is a competitive Minnesota State High School League winter sport.
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