The Spectrum Sting Dance Team made Spectrum history a few weeks ago by gaining the opportunity to perform at a Minnesota Timberwolves basketball game on Wednesday, January 3rd. After being invited in August, the SSDT began preparing for the performance.

“The Timberwolves performance was very different from our normal competitions and performances,” said Dance Captain and junior at Spectrum, Sarah Smith. “It’s a much bigger environment and we got invited to go there.”

While they had been preparing for the performance since the dance season started, the team encountered some road blocks as the date approached. Coach Melanie Aeshliman stated that the original plan was to have everybody in the Spectrum dance program  out on the floor. These plans were forced to change for numerous reasons.

“Maybe there’s an injury or maybe there’s a different situation where they’re not able to perform for x, y, z,” said Aeshliman. 

When there are dancers that aren’t able to be at a performance, the dancers on the floor have to adapt to fit their routine to make it look as flawless as possible.

“Some of the challenges were just remembering the new corrections or the formation changes that we had to change a lot,” said Daniella Orton, a member of the dance team and eighth grader at Spectrum.

Although they had challenges leading up to the Timberwolves game, the Spectrum Sting Dance Team overcame them and kicked their way to a successful performance. Each member of the team had moments that they will remember for the rest of their lives.

“It’s such a unique experience for us,” said Smith. “We had never done it before so we were all really nervous.”

“Getting to dance and just have fun,” said Aislin Tuckey, a member of the dance team and a junior at Spectrum. “Get[ting] to see people that we love like family, watching us and cheering us on.”

The performance at the Timberwolves game impacted the Spectrum Sting Dance Team in a positive way. They will continue to use that confidence to skyrocket into a successful season.