On Sunday, March 11, the Mineola High School Rockettes will compete at their last competition in the gymnasium of Nassau Community College. Upon entering the Scholastic Kickline Competion, it is ordinary to see excited and nervous packs of girls gathered together, fixing their hair, tugging at their uniforms, and praying for a perfect performance. Every team hopes to win and every girl tries her hardest to execute every movement of the routine the best of her ability. I have heard that there is nothing like the feeling of stepping out onto the dance floor and seeing family members, friends or fans of the team waving pom-poms, holding signs, and screaming their best wishes as loud as they can. For the teams involved in the competition, these excited spectators can number over a hundred, and the support that the girls receive can inspire them to do better than they ever imagined.

Unfortunately, when the Rockettes walk out onto the floor at Nassau Community College, we may see as little as seven fans, and although the one banner that we have is beautiful and inspirational, it is often overshadowed by the numerous banners and waving pom-poms of the other teams.

The Rockettes, who perform with the marching band for the fall season, separate into three groups for the spring - the dance team, the kickline and the pom team. They practice up to six hours a week depending on how many of these teams each of them is a member of. Each practice is run by a dedicated director, Melissa Lupo, a graduate of Mineola HIgh School and a former Rockette, who is assisted by the four captains, Jackie McAward, Deena Vezo, Lauren Wenzel and Maureen Wojis. The goals as a team at each practice is to perfect three routines that will be performed at the next competition. Since every Rockette is very talented, they are often active in many other activities that are both related and unrelated to the school, so the hours that they put seem like so many and are often hard to fit in to our busy schedules. Some of the girls, because of our lack of support have started to feel that we are wasting our time.

As a member of all three of the performing groups, who has to view the lack of support three times at every competition, I am asking you to come and support us at the last competition. The competitions are enjoyable and all three of the routines this year are exciting and creative. The dance routine is nothing short of amazing because of the help of choreographer Phil Orsano, a student at Mineola High School who is already renowned for his incredible talent. Take this opportunity to view the routine, and in a few years you will feel privileged to have seen his work before he became famous. The pom routine, set to the music of NSYNC is just as exciting, as is our peppy kick routine. The competitions are highly enjoyable and could be fun to watch for the entire family. Admission is only $5 per person. The competition on Sunday starts at 10 a.m. and could end as late as 5 p.m. Please come out and cheer for them this Sunday at the last competition of the year.