Spend A Day in the Life of SDA 2020

Spend A Day in the Life of SDA 2020

One of Wayne Valley’s most unique traditions, SDA, unfortunately was canceled this year due to the Coronavirus. SDA, or the Student Dance Association, is a huge event involving more than 200 girls. Every year more than 1,000 seats a night over the course of 3 days are filled with fans, awaiting to see what the dances that every girl worked so hard on looked like. This year’s theme was “a day in the life,” with themes such as race car driver, DJ, business woman, and fitness trainer. There was a huge disappointment amongst participants that the show could not go on, as these girls worked so hard for many months, on a show that could not take place. However, these dedicated dancers cannot go unrecognized. Here’s the inside scoop on SDA 2020.

 

White Team Themes: 

 

  • Jazz: day in the life of a model; with junior captains Ariana Gencarelli and Emily Krassowski
  • Tap: day in the life of a weather girl; with senior captains Melody Chambers and Julia Vanderclock
  • Aerobics: day in the life of a racecar driver; with senior captains Gianna Naporlee and Gabby Laterza
  • Pom: day in the life of a DJ; with junior captains Darla Zisa and Jess Fedo

This year, the overall of the white team was Kayla Gutch, who had previously been a tap captain in the 2019 season.

 

Q: What was your best SDA memory?

Kayla: My favorite SDA memory is definitely winning and getting most dedicated my sophomore year.

Q: What do you hope to see in the upcoming season?

Kayla: I hope to see the girls working hard and not taking the season for granted, especially after what happened this year. Of course, I hope for a white win too!

Q: Is there any advice you can give to next year’s overall?

Kayla: For next year’s overall, even when it gets stressful remember to stay positive and enjoy every second of it. 

Q: Anything else you’d like to say to this year’s dancers?

Kayla: I would like to thank them for putting their all into this season, even when we were unsure what was going on. They truly made what I had of my senior year a very great and memorable one. I’m going to miss everyone so much. Good luck next year girls!

 

The most dedicated dance for the white team this year was Tap, with the theme of weather girls.

Both captains of this dance were seniors, Julia Vanderclock and Melody Chambers.

Q: Were you surprised when your dance got most dedicated?

Julia: Winning most dedicated dance did not come as much of a surprise because our girls worked harder and harder each and every practice.

Melody: Winning the most dedicated dance was a well-deserved surprise for everyone. It was truly an honor to get to work with one of the most hard-working and dedicated group of girls. 

Q: What was your proudest moment this season?

Julia: My favorite part of practice was when we finished the entire dance. Mel and I got to see our vision come to life and it was so surreal.

Melody: My favorite and most proud moment of the girls was when we finished the first and second songs of the dance. The beginning was challenging to teach and learn as we were topping and working with an umbrella, but so rewarding when they finally got it and ran the dance all the way through.

Q: Will you come and visit white tap 2021?

Julia:  I would be honored to come back and visit the white team next year. SDA has always been something I loved and I will continue to be a part of after I graduate. 

Melody:  White tap will forever hold a special place in my heart and I will always come back to visit for all the years to come!

 

Along with the most dedicated dance, every year there is a most dedicated dancer. This season, the most dedicated dancer for the white team was senior Lyndsay Slider, who participated in all four dances this year.

Lyndsay said that “most dedicated” isn’t about being the best dancer on the team, it’s really just about your passion for the team and to help out any way you can. To Lyndsay, the best part about SDA is becoming friends with so many new people. She said that there’s nothing like performing and that SDA Monday is such a good bonding experience for the team.

 

Blue Team Themes:

  • Jazz: day in the life as a business woman; with senior captain Julianna Rigoglioso and junior captain Lexi Cascone.
  • Tap: day in the life as a toy; with senior captains with senior captains Maria Lousidis and Gabby Gencarelli.
  • Aerobics: day in the life as a fitness trainer; with senior captains Nikki Gromb and Haley Kampschmidt.
  • Pom: day in the life as a pilot; with senior captain Courtney White and and junior captain Liyana Munoz.

 

This year, the overall of the blue team was Olivia Ohngemach, who had previously been a jazz captain in the 2019 season.

Q: What was your best SDA memory?

Olivia:  My favorite memory from SDA is showing all of the girls the music at the first practice is of the season. It’s so exciting to see all their faces and reactions to the music after months of keeping it a secret.

Q: What do you hope to see in the upcoming season?

Olivia:  In the upcoming season I hope to see the girls love the dance they’re in and take risks and try new styles they might not be familiar with.

Q: Is there any advice you can give to next year’s overall?

Olivia:  My advice to next year’s overall would be to stay organized and to inspire others to be passionate about what they want from this program, whether it be winning, learning a new skill, or finding a new friend.

Q: Anything else you’d like to say to this year’s dancers?

Olivia:  To my dancers this year, you have all shown amazing hard work and dedication and you all deserve the world. I can’t wait to see what you all accomplished next year and I will always be so proud of you. 

 

The most dedicated dance for the blue team this year was Tap, with the theme of toys.

Both captains of this dance were seniors, Maria Lousidis and Gabby Gencarelli. 

Q: Were you surprised when your dance got most dedicated?

Maria: Even though every dance on blue was so dedicated and extremely into their work, I was not surprised that my girls got most dedicated. From day one, everyone on my dance was so amazing and so dedicated to learning and taking in everything tap has to offer, so it was so great to see their hard work pay off!

Gabby: Yes, I was very surprised after we heard the news about SDA being canceled. Olivia facetimed the captains individually and told Maria and I that we were given the most dedicated dance. I was so happy and proud of my girls that we received this award. Maria and I worked very hard as well as the rest of the captains and Blue Team. 

Q: What was your proudest moment this season?

Maria: My proudest moment this season was definitely seeing my dance done and the girls performing it for the first time. It was so rewarding to see everything finally put together and see our dance come to life. 

Gabby: My proudest moment this season as a captain was when we finished the dance. We were the first dance done and the girls picked up choreography wonderfully and performed it to the best of their ability by cheering and doing all of the moves correctly. I was so proud of them as well as to see Maria and I’s work finally finished. 

Q: Will you come and visit blue tap 2021?

Maria: I will definitely come back to see blue tap in 2021!! I wish them all the best and to really make the most out of their season and to keep blue tap on top!!!

Gabby: Yes I will definitely come back and visit Blue Tap 2021 as well as the rest of the dances. I can’t wait to see what this next season holds!

 

This season, the most dedicated dancer for the blue team was sophomore Delila Aktan, who participated in all four dances this year. Delila said that to be most dedicated, You just have to work hard, be respectful to your captains and overall, have a lot of spirit for your team, and make sure you have fun at practices. To Delila, the best part about SDA is the bond you make with all the people on your team and becoming so close with many new people that you meet.

 

Once school was called off for the first month and a half, every member of SDA was required to continue to send in videos of them practicing to each of their captains. Every day the girls were required to send in the videos around the same time that they would usually have practice. This made the spirit and excitement for SDA live on, even though they all couldn’t be together. Once the show was cancelled, the Wayne Valley TV program decided to release the entirety of last year’s show, Netflix, Streaming Live, to YouTube for all of the members to access. This made them feel both sad and nostalgic, but it also made them reminisce in the memories of SDA, and reminded everyone why they signed up for SDA in the first place. Even SDA never got go on, the memories, friendships, and bonds between both teams and their members will continue to live on. Both teams put in so much hard work and dedication to every single dance, that it made this year the most memorable one yet.