While most high school students are just waking up at 6 a.m., sophomore Addie Edmunds and freshman Ella Klein are already at school, devoting their time and effort to the Shawnee Mission South Pacesetters dance team. 

Addie and Ella attend practices from 6:15 – 9:15 a.m. at school three times a week to practice routines the school will perform at games and other events.

“Our dancers are very passionate about the team and its success, so they put in the work,”  said Coach Riley, who is in her first year as dance coach at SMS. She was on her high school dance team as well. This year, the JV team is performing a pom dance called “Bugle Boys”, and the Varsity team is performing a mix dance to a “Mama Mia” mashup. They will perform them at football and basketball games, along with competitions.

Addie has been dancing for four years and really enjoys being a Pacesetter because of all of its opportunities and challenges.

“I decided to be a Pacesetter to help myself grow as a dancer and make new friends,” she said. 

Along with school practices working on team routines, many Pacesetters attend extra dance classes at local studios to keep their skills up. 

“I think that dance is a hard sport because it requires a lot of time and energy and spending a lot of time outside of practice working on dances,” Addie said. “It depends on the day, but I spend 4-5 hours a day dancing – sometimes more.”

Ella Klein dances everyday after school for three hours on top of Pace in the mornings. 

 “It’s a hard sport because you have to practice for long periods of time and it is very mentally and physically tough,” she said. “As of right now I think I will continue to do it because I enjoy performing at football games and being a part of the assemblies.”

Coach Erin Billips, a teacher at Indian Woods Middle School, is also in her first year with the Pacesetters. She was the captain on her same varsity highschool dance team Coach Riley was on, and also danced in college. She hopes to make a difference in her dancers’ lives. 

 “Riley and I have been dancing together for a long time, and we wanted to give all our experience and knowledge to these kids while helping them grow as people along the way,” she said.