For many dancers at WHS, the girls dance team represents much more than just a halftime performance during basketball games. It has become a vibrant community that showcases creative opportunity and school spirit.
Originally a small group, the dance team has grown exponentially over the years as more members have joined, strengthening the sense of community. Kimberly Fowler, the dance team advisor, stated, “Students approached me with an interest in bringing their dance passions out of the studio and into the school. I thought that was wonderful.”
“When we started, we had about 12 dancers, mostly juniors and seniors,” Fowler recalled. She recognized that there were limited opportunities for girls interested in dance to perform, especially at lower-competitive levels. The club grew quickly after its first year, and by the second year, they were performing at halftime of basketball games until COVID-19 halted all extracurricular and athletic activities.
The 2025-2026 team is led by its four captains: seniors Autumn Harper, Courtney Buchalter, Lia Barton and junior Catherine Christian. The team of four is responsible for choreographing each move, selecting the music and teaching it to their teammates during after-school practice.
Buchalter said, “Anyone is welcome to join, regardless of their grade or skill level. We learn choreography from the end of November through January and then we perform at the halftime show of both girls and boys basketball games through spring break. Our last performance is the student-teacher basketball game. At the student-teacher game, we normally feature a teacher and teach them a bit of our choreography.”
Throughout her time in the club, Harper and many of her teammates have found new friendships and opportunities. Harper said, “Being on the dance team has been a welcoming and fun experience. It brings a group to WHS to highlight dancers and allows them to build a community.”
Since the dance team operates as a club rather than a school-funded sport, they must raise money through fundraisers to cover costs. Harper remarked, “Any uniform changes or expenses are funded by the money we’ve raised ourselves.” Buchalter added, “The program has been around for about a decade, but we have no funding. We’ve funded everything ourselves. Uniform changes or anything that requires us to spend money is money that we’ve raised ourselves. In the past, we’ve done things like popcorn fundraisers to fund uniforms.”
Despite these challenges, the team’s talent has gained significant recognition. Fowler proudly commented, “The dance team was named one of the Top Five NJ Dance Teams of the Year by nj.com in 2024.”
In addition to performing, the team also focuses on building a supportive environment for its members. Practices, team-bonding activities and performances enable dancers to improve their skills and confidence while contributing to the community’s spirit.
