The Madison Dance Team is full of fresh faces this year with many past teammates making the personal choice to not continue the dance team. A new coach has also stepped up to the role and many wonder if the dance team will keep their spirit.The new Head Coach, Margaret Foarde, has worked at Madison for 13 years as an 11th grade English teacher and as the director of the Madison News Network (MNN). Joining her on the coaching staff is Lindsey Landolo who works as a first grade teacher at Churchill Road Elementary School. Foarde and Landolo had worked at Marshall High School as the coaches of the dance team since 2015, and decided to make the switch to Madison this past year.
“It was a hard decision we made for a couple of reasons,” Foarde said. “Lindsey and I felt it was time for a change because we had been at Marshall for several years and we wanted to challenge ourselves.”
For coaches, working at the same school as their athletes allows them to key into the school’s community.
“It is very difficult to work at a different school than your athletes because you are disconnected with the school’s community.” Foarde said.
Being a student athlete is something that many Madison students balance. Whether it’s being on the football, field hockey, cross country, cheer or dance team, it is hard for students to keep academics as their top priority. Many past members of the Madison Dance Team recognized this and made the personal decision to focus on their academics this school year.
“I would say that I left because I wanted to focus more on school,” Lindsay Stoner (’25) said. “I’m taking a lot of AP classes and getting more involved in school by doing more clubs.”
Despite the challenges that come with having a team full of new people, the dance team is still thriving according to Senior Sydney Hoffman (’24).
“I’m really excited to see how the team grows this year, it’s already off to such an amazing start,” Hoffman said.
Even though Madison Dance Team has experienced many changes this year, with new coaches and a young team, they are still better than ever and can’t wait to see you on the sidelines.