The Knight Stars dance team took 5th place overall in the jazz category. They competed in Division 1 Pom and Division 1 Jazz, against multiple other schools. Despite past conflicts, the Knight Stars persevered through, and the outcome was worth it.

The only graduating senior from the team, Gillian Knaebel, said, “My favorite part about the dance team this year was probably going to the competitions and the basketball games. I loved all the energy when we performed and I had a great time.” 

On Friday, February 25, Barstow Knight Stars Gillian Knaebel ‘22, Amara Patel ‘24, Jayden Sampat ‘24, and Kyanne Carlgren ‘24, all headed to St. Louis, MO, to attend this year’s Missouri Dance Team State Championships. 

That Friday, Patel ‘24 competed in the sophomore soloists category and did an outstanding job. The solo competition was held at Fort Zumwalt North. Patel ‘24 said, “I thought we did pretty well given the late start to our season. Especially since we are a new team with a new coach, it was overall a fun experience.” 

The team performed their actual routines the next day, competing their jazz routine in the afternoon and pom in the early evening. Later that night, awards were announced. Their jazz routine placed 5th for Division 1 Jazz, but the pom routine did not place, as it was a much larger category, but all of the dancers made the academic-all-state team for their GPAs. For that, they got certificates, and those who received an unweighted 4.0 GPA were also awarded a medal. 

When asked about the team’s performance at State, Knaebel ‘22 said, “Considering that we started our season so late [October], I think State went really well. I would have liked more time to get ready and practice our modified routines, but overall it was great to just interact with ours and other dance teams.” 

The reason the Knight Stars didn’t begin their season until October was because they lacked a coach. Thankfully, former Chiefs cheerleader Krista Logan stepped in, and is now the Knight Stars’ head coach. By November and December, the Stars were working on routines. 

As this year’s dance season concludes for the Knight Stars, they begin to look towards next year. There are currently five members, but with one graduating they need more. The Knight Stars will be holding auditions for the 2022-2023 season on April 11 and 13 after school, so if any incoming high schoolers or current high schoolers are interested, try it out!