Varsity dance and cheer debuted their half-time performances on Friday, Aug. 26, during the varsity football game against Apple Valley High School.

During the separate performances, dance and cheer represented the school and showed their school spirit with the performances. As soon as the groups stepped onto the field, the crowd went wild.

“My favorite part is the beginning when we get everyone’s attention and start hyping them up,” senior dance co-captain Elyse Turner said. “The crowds go wild and they all cheer us on. I don’t know if the crowds know it, but that’s what keeps us dancers going.”

The crowd may not notice it, but, according to to cheer and dance, the crowd’s cheering encourages the RCHS teams to perform better. When going to the games, the high energy that comes from the crowd positively impacts the dancers.

“Their halftime performance was really good,” junior Nasha Myers said. “They gave a lot of energy.”

According to students in the crowd, both performances were memorable.

In regard to the varsity cheer team performance, their performance was well received by the masses. Their next halftime performance will be on Friday, Oct. 21 when they perform with the Cougarettes.

Varsity cheerleader junior Chloe Woods said, “Usually, you can catch us at the basketball games.”

The majority of the dance team members said they thoroughly enjoyed performing and were excited to perform again.

“A lot of time and energy [goes into these performances],” sophomore and JV dancer Caasi Walker said.

Though the performances are short, many hours go into them. Members of Rancho’s dance and cheer teams said they work very hard to prepare for their half-time performances.

Junior varsity cheerleader LaDarryl Loring said he enjoys performing with the team.

Loring said the best part of performing is “when [they] all hit it together as a team.”

According to senior Evonie Arizmendi, hitting it is defined as a good feeling. It means to execute the routine with little to no mistakes, otherwise perfect performance.

“Being able to perform in front of a crowd after COVID and everything that’s happened, and hearing everybody cheering for us [is rewarding],” Arizmendi said.