Who's Got Spirit? Mesa Verde's New Dance Team Does

When most of their classmates are still asleep or waking up for the day, 34 students from in Citrus Heights are already on campus, dancing to choreography as rap music plays in the background.

The students are part of Mesa Verde's brand new dance team. Besides cheerleaders, there was once a drill team but efforts to start a dance team before had failed due to a lack of funding, said Amberlee Prosser, the dance team coach.

"The dance team is representative of the school as a whole," said Prosser, who also coaches dance teams at  and . "We've got academic leaders and students who are in athletics so we practice early (6:15 a.m.-7:30 a.m.) so students can do sports after school."

Last school year she met with students. Auditions for the Mesa Verde dance team were held. Sixty-seven students auditioned and those that made the team practiced over the summer.

Now the team is preparing to perform at school rallies, football and basketball games and community events. On one recent morning, they danced to songs including "Get Out of Your Mind" by Lil' Jon and LMFAO and "Turn Up the Music" by Chris Brown.

"It's important to show spirit at our school so it's good," said Tara Gardner, 17, a senior captain.

Daniel Devol, 16, is one of only five boys on the dance team, a ratio many dance teams face. Dancing, he said, is more popular now thanks to reality shows such as "Dancing With the Stars" and "So You Think You Can Dance" and movies like "Step Up."

"Cheerleading can be expensive," Devol said. "I've just always liked dancing."

The Mesa Verde dance team will be holding fundraisers, including selling popcorn and holding car washes, said Mary Neese, 14.

They will also hold kids camps to work with the younger groups in town.

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