by Melissa Brisco
Staff Writer
The “fringe” is what they are recognized and known for, but the Coppell High School Lariettes truly shine when they change out of their fringe and into their contest uniforms.
Beginning days after football season, the Lariettes start prepping for their contest season, when they have the opportunity to display their talent and precision. In preparation for their contest, the Lariettes host an annual “Showoffs,” where they perform their competition dances as a dress rehearsal in front of an audience to display their dances for the community.
At Showoffs, the full Lariette team performed their routines in addition to select Lariettes who performed solos, as well as Silver Star routines intermixed within.
The show took place in the gym on Thursday, Feb. 18 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Admission was $5, which will go toward future team expenses in the year.
“The Showoffs were amazing this year,” senior Caroline Kaifes said. “I really enjoyed them and the Lariettes did a great job. The whole show was very entertaining and fun to watch.”
The evening started off with the Lariette’s modern dance before moving to the Silver Star’s hip-hop routine. Junior Alyssa Slaight then danced her solo, which was followed by junior Lariette officer Maggie Clifford’s jazz solo, then junior Rachel Thompson’s solo and finally the Lariette team kick before the intermission. After intermission, the show resumed with the Lariette team’s jazz dance, the Silver Star team’s modern and the Lariette officer’s hip-hop. Next was Emily Smith’s solo, followed by senior Ashley Johnson’s solo and the Lariette officer’s lyrical. After that, the Silver Stars took the floor again for their team jazz, followed by seniors Caroline Cauley, Kristen Carter, Meredith Weaver and Corinne Peters’ solos. The evening ended with the Lariette team pom.
“My favorite dance was the jazz routine,” senior Lariette Hannah McConnell said. “I really liked the song and I love ‘The Cranberries’ [the artist]. The dance was a lot of fun and it went really well.”
The officers were in agreement of the success of the show.
“Showoffs went really well,” Carter said. “It was a lot of fun and it went by really fast. Doing the whole show was extremely tiring. My favorite dance is probably the officer hip hop – we all have a lot of fun dancing together and the crowd really likes it.”
Coppell Middle School East Principal and former CHS dean of students Laura Springer emceed the event and did a great job of filling the time and giving the Lariettes ample time to change costumes. Springer made sure to recognize former Lariette member Haley Hoffman, who is filling in for Silver Star director Ashley Lee after recently giving birth to her second child.
A surprise for two lucky Lariettes came with a prom date invitation. Two boys asked the girls a two different times during the show, both with flowers and a sign.
After Showoffs, the Lariettes’ contest season begins. On Saturday, Feb. 27, the Lariettes will enter into their first competition of the season. The next weekend they leave for their spring trip to Houston, where they will perform at the Houston rodeo and perform in another contest. The Lariettes will finish up their contest season with the National MA competition on March 12 and 13.
The Lariettes gave another great performance at Showoffs and are expected to have another successful contest season.
Photos by Katie Quill
On Thursday, February 19 the Coppell Lariettes performed in their annual showoffs. The program consisted of upperclassman solos, and team, officer, and silver star dances that will be performed during competition season.
