Recently, Type One spoke with Arielle (Ari) Rothenberg (‘20), the creator of Pine Crest’s new dance team.  Consisting of 8 dancers, the team practices up to six hours a week and performs during halftime at the boys’ varsity basketball games.  Ari has been dancing since she was little, in part due to her love of performing and “the elegance and grace of dancing.”

When asked about her origins as a dancer, Ari said, “I’ve been taking dance classes since I was young, but I started really taking dance seriously in fifth grade after my dance teacher announced we’d be starting a competition team, as that was something that seemed really fun to me.”  

The idea of performing has always been something that draws Ari to dance, but the individuality of the sport left something to be missed. She longed for the same team dynamic other sports teams had during their season, so she set out to create a team with a common bond over dance.

After seeing the incredible spirit Pine Crest students show during sports games and the number of dance teams that are incorporated into sports across the country, Ari began looking into starting one here at Pine Crest. 

She said, “ I really wanted to start one at Pine Crest to combine my love for performing with my school spirit.”

After having performed numerous basketball games to date, Ari has found that her teams family dynamic and the thrill of performing during the games has only propelled her motivation to perform for the Pine Crest community.  

By far, her favorite part of the team is, “getting to perform in front of a big audience at a high-energy basketball game, where everyone is cheering, having fun, and supporting PC.”

Be sure to check out and support the dance team at the next home-court basketball game.