The Bellingham High School dance team’s return to the state competition hasn’t been pretty.
Practicing in the rain, practicing and competing with masks on and having to learn most routines on Zoom have highlighted the last couple of years for the Bayhawks. Ask any of the senior captains on the team and they’ll tell you it’s been the hardest part.
Despite all of that, the team is making its way over to Yakima this weekend for state. It’s the first time the competition has been held since 2019. Senior captain Ella Bathum is the only member of this year’s team that was there last time.
Heading into the season, nobody really knew what it was going to look like. Competitions were virtual last year and there weren’t many clear answers at the beginning of the school year as to how the new season would play out.
“We had a rocky start to the season because of COVID,” Bathum said. “After the first competition, people got comfortable with how our season was going to go and how it was looking.”
Fellow captain and senior Victoria Teed said the season has mostly been surprising.
“After two years of not having everything fully there, this is our first time going to state even though we’re seniors because of COVID,” she said. “Having these experiences and actual competitions in person and not virtually is just surprising after two years of not having that.”
Much like every aspect of life, the pandemic changed how the team was able to practice, perform and create routines.
Health protocols allowed indoor practices, but the Bayhawks decided as a team to practice outside, rain or shine, as their own safety precaution during the shortened 2021 COVID seasons.
Bathum called the pandemic the biggest challenge the team has had to navigate but said she thought it ultimately brought everyone closer together heading into the 2021-22 season.
“Practicing outside and doing all of these things for a season that wasn’t really a season was really fun, but it was also really hard on us because we had to make the choice to work for something we didn’t know would happen,” Bathum said. “We also had to make the decision to wear masks and work outside when everyone else was allowed to work inside, but we wanted to keep our team safe.”
Bellingham competes in three of six categories with three being the maximum a single team can compete in.
Head coach Ronni Weston said not many teams choose to compete in three because of how challenging it gets.
Weston has been coaching at Bellingham since 2000 and said the team has been at a high competitive level since 2002.
“In the last 20 years we’ve gone to state all but two of those years with this program,” Weston said. “The program started when Bellingham High School reopened after the remodel in 2000. It was a new program and has grown a ton since then.”
Getting to experience the state competition with this year’s team is extra special to Weston whether they bring home trophies or not.
“They’ll never perform in another venue like this on the team,” Weston said. “You want to go out there and do your best, but regardless, the fact you’ve made it this far makes all the hours and hours of work they’ve put in worth it. I look forward to the team just being able to walk into the SunDome for the first time and just thinking, ‘We’ve done it. We’ve made it.’”
With Bathum being the only one on the team having been to the Yakima Valley SunDome for state before, she’s looking forward to sharing that experience with the rest of the squad.
Senior and captain Lauren Damon said she’s excited to finally see what state is all about.
“I don’t really know what to expect, so nothing bad can really happen,” Damon. “It’s going to be great.”
Bellingham is set to compete at the state tournament Saturday and will perform in the military, hip-hop and kick categories.
