At halftime of Hopkins football games, the student section roars in approval when the Royals Dance Crew takes the field. They make their presence felt at every game, on the sideline and during their performance.

“I really enjoy performing at halftime during the football games, but sometimes it feels like a lot of effort for not much reward,” said Arielle Patin, senior.

Dancers of the Royals Dance Crew have to be fully committed to their team to be successful. The practice schedule is extremely grueling, as they practice throughout the summer for many hours a day.

“I think our practices get us ready for performances because they’re so rigorous,” Patin said. “One five minute dance performance is nothing compared to a three hour practice.”

Due to the graduation of many of the members on last year’s Royals Dance Crew, the team has substantially diminished in number of dancers. The Royals Dance Crew looks noticeably smaller in size when they take the field, which puts more of an emphasis on each individual dancer.

When the Hopkins football team played under the bright lights of TCO Stadium -the Minnesota Vikings practice facility- the Royals Dance Crew had their chance to shine on the big stage as well. They took the field immediately after the third quarter, giving it everything they had with all eyes on them.

Gaia Navarini, senior, is an exchange student from Milan, Italy, and is the Royal Dance Crew’s newest addition. Her first year of dancing at an American high school has been exciting, and she has made the most of the opportunity.

“I was really embarrassed, but dancing at TCO Stadium was an amazing experience,” Navarini said.

Many Royals Dance Crew members also dance for the Royelles when the winter season begins. This is a more formal dance team that attends competitions within the conference as well as invitationals with a varsity and junior varsity jazz and kick team.

Whether in pep-fests or football games, the Royals Dance Crew always shines. The dancers on the team are some of the hardest working athletes at HHS, and deserve more recognition for the spirit they bring to every event.