MFL MarMac dancers find success at state competition
The MFL MarMac Bulldog Dance Team is shown here following their hoopla routine. Dancers included (front, left to right) Kadence Pape, Kaylee Bachman, Ava Goltz; (middle) Ava Linder, Mackenzie Bachman, Amara Buchheit, Morgan Jacobson; (back) Makayla Morrissey, Hailee Corlett, Kaylee Nuehring, Savannah Schaller and Mallory Lang. (Contributed photos)
MFL MarMac's pom routine was set to 90s music, including the Spice Girls, Hanson and Vanilla Ice. The team also had some stunning new blue, pink and orange uniforms, courtesy of the MFL MarMac Booster Club.
Senior Kaylee Bachman received a Division I rating for a Class III solo performance. Set to a slower acoustic version of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” the routine brought tears to coach Kelli Saxe’s eyes.
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
The MFL MarMac Bulldog Dance Team had a successful two days at the Iowa State Dance and Drill Team Association (ISDTA) State Dance Competition. The dancers earned fifth place in Class I Hoopla and sixth in the Class V Pom Division at the event, which was held earlier this month at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Senior Kaylee Bachman also received a Division I rating for a Class III solo performance.
“We had a really good state experience. These girls are amazing,” said coach Kelli Saxe. She marveled at her team’s ability to present two strong routines on just one day of practice per week, while most other teams have three or more.
“Sometimes I don’t know how we pull it off,” she joked, “but they gel so well together. It feels like a family.”
This was just the second year MFL MarMac competed in hoopla, which, as the name implies, involves each dancer performing with a set of four colorful hoops rather than, for example, pom poms.
“It’s an Iowa specific dance category,” said Saxe, “and another coach helped us with the routine and lent us hoops last year.”
But when she went to get MFL MarMac its own hoops this year, none could be found.
“You have to make your own,” Saxe quipped.
Her dad helped form the shape using PVC pipe and dowels, and she ordered mylar streamers to create blue, green and white strips to cover the hoops.
“It was a big task. It took 45 minutes to tie each hoop, and each girl has four hoops. I finished the night before,” said Saxe. “But they turned out really pretty. We picked colors to coordinate with our costumes.”
MFL MarMac’s “Rockin in the Rain” hoopla routine was set to two classic country tunes, “Rockin’ with the Rhythm of the Rain” by The Judds and “I Love a Rainy Night” by Eddie Rabbit.
“It was way different than anyone else and set us apart,” Saxe said.
The category is exciting because the hoops can create unique visuals.
“At one point, we formed a circle and each girl flipped her hoops, making a trail around them,” Saxe shared. “We had some unique formations too.”
Working with the hoops can be tricky. Saxe said the team spends most of its time drilling pom motions, but hoops have to be held differently.
“They’re not heavy, but they are just a bigger object to manipulate,” she explained. “You have to take your time so they are facing the right direction.”
For pom, which is one of the team’s strengths, MFL MarMac moved up a division based on school enrollment.
“That was huge for us. Competing against bigger schools, you have to fight harder to be in trophy range,” Saxe said. “We missed placing by half a point.”
This routine was set to 90s music, including the Spice Girls, Hanson and Vanilla Ice.
“I love 90s music,” said Saxe, “and it’s back in style. My playlist at practice has become cool again.”
The Bulldogs also had some stunning new blue, pink and orange uniforms, courtesy of the MFL MarMac Booster Club.
“They were bright, fun and vibrant and really added a lot,” according to Saxe. “We got a ton of compliments everywhere we went. That was really nice because I actually bought them on consignment.”
MFL MarMac’s routine featured a variety of turns and jumps. It played into the strengths of the team’s lone senior, Kaylee Bachman, who’s also a gymnast.
“With gymnastics, she has a lot of skills and tricks, so we tried to use some of them for added difficulty and a wow factor,” the coach stated. “She did aerials and unique jumps, and also picked up some turning skills.”
Those skills were on display in Bachman’s solo as well. Set to a slower acoustic version of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” the routine brought tears to Saxe’s eyes.
“This was Kaylee’s second time doing a solo,” she said, “and I think her mom said it best: ‘She looked like an elegant gymnast last year. This year, she was a dancer.’ She has a knack for connecting with people and drawing them in.”
Saxe said Bachman put in a lot of time outside practice, acquiring skills like leaps, jumps and turns.
“Her solo went up a division too, so she went up against some tough competition,” the coach added.
Saxe will miss Bachman’s leadership and talent next season, but said the future is bright for the Bulldog dancers.
“I know that, for years to come, we’re going to be good,” she quipped.
If you’d like to view the team’s state performances, visit the “MFL MarMac Bulldog Dance Team” Facebook page. The dancers will also be performing the pom routine at the Dec. 14 varsity boys basketball game and, on Dec. 17, Bachman will share her solo at the varsity girls basketball game and the team will perform the state hoopla routine at the varsity boys game. On Dec. 19, at 6 p.m., visit St. Feriole Island in Prairie du Chien, Wis., for a community holiday performance. The event is interactive, so attendees will be invited to join the dancers for parts of the hour.
