And the team that did not place, for the past three straight years… the Class of 2025.
That is what Miami Palmetto Senior High’s Class of 2025 heard these previous years. The hope for change arises as seniors like Amanda Morgan aim to rewrite their story, and turned it into a comeback.
“I think because we’ve lost so many times, a lot of us are going to be really hungry,” Morgan said.
To prepare for Panther Prowl, the seniors practiced twice a week and each practice ranged from an hour to an hour and a half long.
On the flip side, the freshmen tried to start their prowl career with a win. Freshman liaison Taylor Bouchard had many goals and aspirations for the Class of 2028.
“Some goals and aspirations I have for Prowl are to make all of the dances fun, as well as the freshman having a fun time while working hard to be able to have a great run-through at Prowl,” Bouchard said.
The freshmen were not experienced with the environment and hype that goes into preparing Prowl or experiencing homecoming week as a whole.
Freshman Layla James, who is part of Prowl and Variations, highly anticipated Prowl.
“I’m expecting it to be really fun and entertaining and I’m hoping to see a lot of my fellow classmates,” James said.
James had the difficult job of balancing her school, Prowl, and Variations life, all while trying to get adjusted to the routine as a high-schooler. Variations dancers are held to a high standard.
“I am expected to be a leader in it but I do not feel any pressure to learn the dances [for prowl],” James said.
Senior Madison Williams, who is the choreographer for the seniors, was optimistic for this year.
“I was more than happy to take the job,” Williams said.
Williams had been a dancer for about 10 years, mostly in hip-hop or jazz; she stopped dancing at the end of middle school.
The building blocks and solid foundation for Prowl is practice. Trying to organize practice for a large group of people is a difficult feat, let alone high schoolers trying to get fellow high schoolers to listen.
“I brainstormed the dances myself and taught everyone at the practices. Keeping so many people together and engaged is a struggle, but it’s well worth it,” Williams said.
Bouchard, a junior, has the hard job of trying to maintain control of the freshman, while still trying to keep the practices fun.
“I am managing to keep Panther Prowl practice fun yet under control by giving them time to really understand the dances and once we have the section of the dance completely clean, we will then move forward together to learn the next steps,” Bouchard said.
While everyone saw the finished product on Sept. 25, there was a lot of work and time needed to prepare for the finished product.
