Noah Gunning

Sophomore Dorothy Jennett performs with the dance team during half time at a basketball game.

The Midway is featuring athletes, selected at random, from school teams for informal interviews about their sports. Dorothy Jennett is a sophomore on the dance team. Dorothy’s responses have been lightly edited for clarity, style and length.

What’s one thing in your gear bag you can’t live without and why?

“I’m injured — I have a broken toe that I am recovering from. So right now, an essential for me is just tape, like simple tape that I can tape my toe up with.” 

Who is the one artist you have to listen to as you get ready for a game or competition? “I listen to a lot of Beyoncé as motivational music. I listen to a lot of Taylor Swift also to get motivated. Those two are pretty big for me. I also listen to some Nicki Minaj and Britney Spears. I have a whole pop playlist that is my motivational playlist.”

If you could design your own uniform, what would it look like?

“Our uniforms this year are super cute. If I could design my own, it would have a lot of sparkle and maybe some silver in there. My favorite color is pink, so it would probably have pink.” 

What’s your favorite pre-performance snack?

“I eat a lot of Clif Bars; I always have them in my dance bag. They are just a quick snack, pretty filling. I usually have the chocolate chip oatmeal one.”

What are your pre-performance rituals or superstitions?

“Just hanging out with the team and being with my friends, especially Ceci [Siegel], the captain. We always hang out before games and just do our makeup, do our hair, get ready. That is my pregame routine.” 

If you could meet one professional athlete, who would it be and why?

“There are a lot of choreographers on the internet, Cassie Bartho, Galen Hooks. No one probably knows who they are, but there are a lot of choreographers that I love, and I watch a lot of their videos. I’ve learned a lot of their choreography on my own time, and I think that they are really unique.”

What is your favorite pre-performance drink?

“It’s just water, just water. I am a water girly.” 

How long have you been dancing?

“I have been dancing since I was 2. I mean, you know, like first step classes. But, yeah, I’ve been dancing my whole life.” 

What is your favorite form of dance?

“This is a hard question. I really love all styles of dance, but I would say my favorite is probably jazz or contemporary. But I mean hip hop, ballet are so much fun, and pom is super fun, too. It’s a hard question, but I would say jazz.”

Do you have a favorite performance you have done? 

“My favorite performance we’ve done was the competition pom routine from last year. It was an ABBA mash-up up, and it was probably the hardest routine that I’ve done on the dance team so far, which made it super fun.” 

Why did you choose to join the dance team?

“My mom knew about [the dance team] before I did, she always wanted me to join. I saw some videos of them years ago, and I was like, ‘Wow, that looks super fun.’ Also, Coach [Nichole] Petersen is amazing and wonderful. She’s such a fun spirit. And one more reason, the captain Ceci was in my jazz class at my studio, so I knew her through that … and she was like, ‘Hey, you should come join the dance team.’”

What is your favorite part about being on the dance team?

“There’s a lot, but performing at the games is so much fun and also doing pom is really unique. That’s part of also, just the community of people on the team is so amazing, and we have such a strong bond. Even with freshmen, we are so inclusive. We have so much fun together, and it’s just a great environment. And Coach Petersen makes the environment fun. She’s super supportive of all of us, and we have a lot of fun together.” 

What is one treasured memory you have with the team?

“Honestly, just like right before competitions, when we’re getting ready together and we’re just super pumped up and like, we’re super ready to go. Just the energy with the team is probably the best moment for me.”