Have you heard of the Spartanettes at Greenbrier East High School? This is the first school year the Spartanettes, a dance team, have really taken off, and it means the world to the girls on the team to be out there on the floor and recognized for all their talent!

The Spartanettes, who began dancing at programs for East such as homecoming festivities, Veterans Day and Christmas programs, and Christmas parades, quickly moved on to basketball games. After the girls got some good routines under their belt, the team traveled to Bridgeport and Charleston for competitions. From Bridgeport, they brought home first place in their division for hip-hop, and second place for jazz.

Not only has the team won competitions, but its members have grown close. I interviewed all eight Spartanettes and asked how dancing on the team had impacted each one. Sophomore Abbe Sams said the team impacted her because of the people it put in her life. Her teammates have “boosted me in many different ways as a person.”

Junior Kloey Brammer echoed Sams’ feelings about being supported and lifted up: “The girls I dance with have made life more enjoyable and I have made memories I will never forget.”

Lacie Galford, a junior, said the Spartanette experience made her a better person and helped her sportsmanship, while sophomore Krisanna Elmore said she learned she can do anything she puts her mind to.

Team captains Roz Humphreys and Ellie Gregory are juniors. Humphreys said the team has touched her by getting her to do something she is passionate about for her school. “I love getting to show school spirit with girls I love.” Gregory says the team has inspired her, and that she loves all the opportunities and experiences the team has shared.

Laken Bennett, also a junior, said the team has given her friends who are more like family; she calls them her “hype women.” Payton Vance, who won a first-place medal at Bridgeport with her contemporary senior solo,  said the team reached her because she has ben able to bond with people she never would have bonded with before. It’s easy to see how hard-working, positive, and close-knit this team is.

Of course, the team’s success would not have been possible without the support and hard work of its coaches, one of whom is English teacher Stephanie Peyatt, who grew up a dancer herself.  She said that when she was in high school dance was everything to her, so it’s her dream to now teach young women and give them the experiences she also had, and she is “unbelievably proud” of the Spartanettes. Peyatt, who had her third baby this year, also noted that the dance team never would have taken flight without co-coaches Hannah Morningstar-Stout and MaKayla Trump Casenelli stepping in to help co-captains Gregory and Humphreys keep the team running smoothly. “They are the glue that holds it all together,” she said. She also gave a shout-out to English teacher Kallie Cochran and 2023 East graduate Arabella Crookshanks for starting the sport during the 2022-2023 school year and bringing her on board to help. Had they not pushed the first domino, the Spartanettes never would have begun as something small that’s now making it big!