NC’s dance revival

When the Red Feathers Dance Team at North Central High School takes the floor this year, it will be continuing a tradition that started in 1938.

Founded by Elsa Pinkham, the girls’ physical education teacher and the woman behind the Doll Shop productions, Red Feathers was an elite group of senior girls who had outstanding grades and were active in physical education, according to the school’s history book, “North Central High School, A History: 1908-1981.” They joined the all-male marching band during halftime shows.

The tradition held throughout the years, adding girls from all grades and increasing in size. Their first male team member, Virgil Stripes, joined in 1980.

But interest began to fade in the early to middle 1990s and soon Red Feathers disbanded.

The group is coming back to help the school celebrate its upcoming centennial. They started last year for a performance at the annual Groovy Shoes basketball game against Shadle Park High School. Enthusiasm was starting to grow.

LaQuinna Crowley, 17, said that she tried out for the program last year because she really liked dancing and was excited about the new instructor chosen for the team.

“I think they are going to do really well,” Carol Grover said. Grover, who formerly owned the Carol Lee Dance Academy, is the new instructor for the team. She was working as a substitute for the school district in various classified positions when the opportunity to teach Red Feathers came up.

Grover is now teaching around 20 students dance routines for basketball halftime shows, pep assemblies and dance team competitions.

The students, who include one boy, went to their first dance camp, the United Spirit Association’s camp, held at Mead High School this summer, where they won “Most Improved.”

“I was so proud of them,” Grover said.

The team had auditions in May and has been practicing ever since. Grover said that many members had never danced before, and she is impressed with their work ethic. She added that the kids never ask her for a break, so she has to remember to let them take time to get water and rest.

Red Feathers are not performing with the marching band this fall, but there are plans in the works for next year.

At a recent practice, the team worked for the majority of an hour on a sequence of eight moves. The smallest of details were checked until everyone was doing the exact same moves at the exact same time.

“It’s so nice to see a group of dancers work together and help each other,” Grover said.

Crowley, a senior, said that she had high expectations about being in Red Feathers, and she thinks participating has been even better than she anticipated.

The team performed at the school’s first pep assembly last week, and Crowley was happy with the reception they received from the school.

“That turned out amazing,” she said. “It was fun to see everyone in the audience respecting us.”

Performances are the payoff for their hard work, but practicing and performing are only a part of being a Red Feather.

Between costumes for performances, shoes and traveling to various places, there is a significant cost to having a dance team. The group had several car washes this summer to raise money for camp, jackets, equipment and costumes.

Grover also has an idea for fund-raising later this year: Dancing With the Stars. The team, faculty and students will learn ballroom dancing techniques and compete in the competition.

In addition to raising money, Grover hopes the competition will help her recruit more boys into Red Feathers, to start doing ballroom, swing and jitterbug dances, as well as more partnering work.