By NICK YAMASHITA
The Progress
The Mack Lyon Middle School Mariner-ettes Dance Team did something unexpected last year: they ended up going off-campus.
“I had to make the middle school dance team an unaffiliated club,” said the Mariner-ettes coach Stephanie Thornton.
The pandemic caused multiple athletic teams, including the Mariner-ettes Dance, to find alternatives to compete and train while not being affiliated in any way with Clark County School District.
“That leads to us into this year,” exclaimed Thornton.
The Mariner-ettes were finally allowed to hold tryouts at the Middle School during the first week of May. After thirty girls auditioned, fourteen were selected with two alternates to make up the team.
Last week, to start off the new and changed team, Thornton held their first summer camp ever to train and prepare the girls for the upcoming school year.
“Since it was my first year doing a dance team camp, I decided to hire within the valley,” Thornton said. “I was excited to have two former Pirate Motion alumni each come during the camp and teach a routine to the girls.”
The girls were required to be at the team camp for training on Monday, June 7 from 9 am until 3 pm. Then on June 8-10, they had to be there from 3 pm to 6:30 pm.
“They worked extremely hard the first two days and it was evident on Wednesday,” Thornton said. “But they pushed through it and did really well.”
The team camp was held at the Old Logandale School building.
Through the week the girls learned four dances and worked on skills, especially getting to know each other better.
“The majority of my girls from last year moved on to high school, so these girls are mainly all new to the team,” said Thornton.
The team has already had their first scheduled performance for their first week of school in an assembly.
Last year the team was invited to perform in ten different events within the communities of Moapa Valley and Mesquite.
“I am really excited about this new season,” stated Thornton. “Especially now that things are opening back up and sports are able to come back within our schools.”
Besides coaching the Mariner-ettes, Thornton also teaches for Fusion Performance, which is her business along with Ashley Bowler (MLMS Cheer Coach). They teach cheer, dance, and combo classes for ages 3 and up.
“I love working with these girls, we form a tight bond and become family,” Thornton said. “Seeing them grow over the year and love dance as much as I do is exactly why I love what I do.”
