The St. Joe Varsity Dance team has had an exciting year so far, even before the competition season began! Performing at St. Joe Day, AngelFest, and Desmet’s Varsity Football game were all great experiences for the team. However, this year, the Dance team had another huge opportunity. This was the chance to perform for KSDK’s Show Me St. Louis on their Tailgate Friday segment. The experience was an honor and something the whole team will never forget. 

The opportunity was originally offered by St. Joe’s very own Math teacher, Ms. Megan Howley. With ties to KSDK member Mary Caltrider, Ms. Howley thought the experience would be great for the team.

“I met Mary and as we got acquainted, she mentioned that her show has a Friday segment involving cheer and dance teams. So I told her St. Joe had to be on the show!” Ms. Howley said. 

Ms. Howley first asked two members of the team  if they thought it would be an interest for the team. The girls both agreed and gave Ms. Howley the information to contact the dance team’s coach. So then Ms. Howley contacted Amy Stumpf,  the varsity Dance team coach, to see if she and the rest of the team would be interested. Coach Stumpf then contacted the KSDK team for more information on the performance. 

The whole team was excited to get the opportunity to perform live for all of St. Louis to see. They worked for weeks to perfect two dances to present on air and three seniors were given the chance to get interviewed. These seniors were Lucie McMillen, Noelle Adamski, and Madi Hannekin. As the date of the performance, November 5, got closer, the excitement and nerves started to build up. 

Senior Sophie Middendorf was beyond thrilled to get this opportunity. 

“I was so excited to perform on Show Me St. Louis. We had been practicing our dances and getting ready to perform on live TV!” Sophie said. 

Finally, the daycame when it was time to dance live not only for St. Joe to see, but also St. Louis. The dancers all met at the KSDK building and started warming up. They got to practice their dances and were instructed on where to stand for each time they would be on the air. The team was ecstatic to get to cheer and dance, and so was their entourage: the parents. The dance team parents got to stand behind the dancers as they performed to cheer them on. 

Before the team’s performance, they met Mary Caltrider, watched other brands promote their products live, cheered behind Mary as she gave the news, and the three seniors were interviewed. These moments definitely helped calm the nerves of having to dance later on in the show. 

When it was finally time to perform, the team was ready. The music started and the dancers presented the dances flawlessly. With energy and big smiles, the live performance could not have gone any better. Everyone on the team, Coach Amy, and the rest of St. Joe was so proud. 

Sophomore Anna Emmenegger was grateful and excited about the performance.

“Dancing on Show Me St. Louis was such an amazing experience! I had such a fabulous time and I never thought I would ever do anything like it. “ Anna said. 

The opportunity to perform live on Show Me St. Louis was huge for the Varsity Dance team. The team is grateful to Ms. Howley for offering the experience and would love to go back and dance again next year. They couldn’t thank KSDK enough for letting them showcase their talent live for St. Louis and St. Joe to see.