Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Haylee Baxter had just been born the last time the Crimson Bears dance team performed at the high school state basketball championships in Anchorage in 2007.

As a matter of fact, now dance team officer Haylee Baxter, was the reason her dance coaching mother could not make the trip those 18 years ago.

“Dance means to me a whole family thing,” H. Baxter said. She started dance at age four and is one of nine seniors on the team. “Like I have always loved it and being able to be here with all the people that we grew up with dancing our whole lives is very special. And being at state is very special for everyone, there are not a lot of opportunities for dance so us going to state is a very huge deal for us. And I am just so glad that I get to be able to appreciate it with all these dancers.”

Senior dance member Stella Moran started dancing when she was six years old.

“Dance means a lot to me,” Moran said. “I think it’s a very good outlet to express yourself and to be able to show the crowd what you can do without having to use words. It’s a really good opportunity to be here at state because dance isn’t as recognized as often especially in Alaska so to have this opportunity is really amazing and I am very thankful for it.”

Senior dance Captain Isabella Cadigan McAdoo has been dancing since she was three years old.

“Dance obviously means a lot to me,” Cadigan McAdoo said. “I think it is really fun to participate in a sport that is kind of different from the rest. We are still a team sport, we are still very athletic but it is in a different way than basketball, softball those kinds of sports. So I think that is pretty special. And to be at state is obviously really exciting, especially for us seniors. We are kind of leading the way for the underclassmen. But we have never been to state before so this is new for everyone on the team and I think that is kind of making it a more fun experience for all of us.”

Head coach Kayla Price is in her 18th year of coaching, 15 at the helm.

“We talked about it for a few years but could not make it happen,” Price said. “This year we wanted to make it a priority for these seniors because they had been wanting to do this for quite some time. It has been a three-year process to get here.”

Assistant coach Christa Baxter has been involved with the dance team since 2002, either as head or assistant — minus the months missed with bringing Haylee into the world — and she also teaches dance at her studio so gets to know many of the dancers before they enter high school.

“It has been a part of my life, and a passion since before I was in high school,” C. Baxter said. “To see young dancers feel the same way is what motivates me.”

Added Price, “We just get to know each team as different. And each group of kids brings something different and we get to know them…see what their different strengths are, and personalities and how they work together…for me I love watching the progress they make from their freshman year coming into their senior year. And seeing them bond with each class within the team is really special.”

Both have been on the other side. C. Baxter (JDHS dance 1995-99) was a senior on the JDHS dance team when Price (1998-2001) was a freshman.

“My freshman year was my best year,” Price said. “Partially because of that environment that they created…so I want to try to give that to these kids too.”

In the very beginning Southeast dance teams were called Drill Teams, or Military Drill Style, and in 1998 the JDHS squad, like others, progressed into a bit of funk style, then jazz.

“And now it is hip hop, jazz, contemporary, gosh, tons of different styles,” C. Baxter said.

She was part of the team that traveled to Japan for an international competition in ’98 and were one of the first teams to go to the Universal Dance Association (UDA) National Dance Team Championship, the most prestigious high school dance competition in the country. Those week-long dance competitions are held at Walt Disney World Resort and involve Pom, Jazz, Hip Hop, High Kick and Game Day styles.

The 2024-25 JDHS dance team has performed over 50 times this season.

Normally after each premier they gather and each dancer says something positive about the performance, whether it was something they did positive or the crowd response.

“We do critique,” Price said. “But the girls are pretty self-aware so they know if there were mistakes and they watch the video afterward and analyze formations and timing and see where they can improve.”

Senior dance Officer Serena Crupi has been dancing since she was five years old.

“Dancing means a lot to me,” Crupi said. “It is one of the most important things in my life. It lets me express who I am. And it is great to do it with a team of people who are so important to me. I think being at state is really awesome to end out our senior year on and we are ending it with a bang and it is super incredible.”

Senior dance First Lieutenant Reonna Maloney started dancing at age three.

“Dance is kind of everything for me,” Maloney said. “I definitely value it. We do it for everyone that is in the crowd and we do it for the basketball team to show our spirit but, more importantly, we do it for ourselves and I think that is what is super special about it. Ending our year off as seniors at state is truly special. We have such a special group of dancers and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

Senior dance Officer Amelia Yadao has been dancing since age four.

“My whole life has been centered around dance and I had always wanted to be on the JD dance team,” Yadao said. “Being here at state has been such a good opportunity and experience for us. I obviously just love this team and I’m so proud for how far we have come.”

Senior dance Officer Shaelynn Lee has been dancing since age six.

“Dance to me has always been a confidence boost and a built in family,” Lee said. “I have always enjoyed just building our connection and every year it just gets stronger. State is an amazing opportunity. We get to show off who we are. Who southeast is and what are dance team represents. It is an amazing opportunity to get to show that off to everyone else who doesn’t have a dance team.”

At the state tournament the team performed all their routines, except the light march as the logistics of turning on and off lights in a venue that seats over 5,000 people and had multiple real-time activities active instilled reservations among the venue managers and ASAA tournament officials.

Their 10 performances at the state tournament — spread out from Wednesday to Saturday — involved Military March, Pom, Hip Hop, Funk and a portion of their Region V tournament routine featured at Ketchikan three weeks ago.

“Dancing has just always been important to me, especially on a team like this,” Senior dance member Laura Gibb said. She has been dancing since age six. “Like, you’ll just never experience something like this anywhere else and it is just so nice to be at state with all of you guys. It’s an experience that we have never had before…we haven’t been to state in 18 years and I just hope that it is a tradition that continues.”

Senior dance First Lieutenant Bristol Casperson and has been dancing since age three.

“For me dance has always been a very community oriented sport that I have participated in,” Casperson said. “I am a community oriented person and so that translates over greatly coming to state and getting to show off what our community has fostered within us as young dancers to the rest of the state and to people who maybe don’t know there are such amazing dance opportunities in Southeast Alaska. So it has been great to be here with all my best friends that I have made throughout my life.”

On Saturday the JDHS Dance team performed their final routine for the state tournament crowd, doing an homage of Michael Jackson dances, a piece of what they had thrilled the Region V tournament crowd with.

By this time, even before they were announced, their name had gathered acclaim through word of mouth as they were not listed on the tournament program. Fans talked about them all through the stadium seating, crowds left games in the auxiliary gym to attend, those in line at concessions left their placings, the cheer teams that had games that day were arriving early for prime seats and fans who came just for their three-minute halftime performance parked blocks away if parking was filled.

The jazzy hip hop style choreographed to Jackson’s popular dances went long, at three minutes, then most of the state showings.

At the finish fans stood and applauded and yelled for more.

But as P.T. Barnaum, and Walt Disney, are quoted as saying, “Always leave them wanting more.”

• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé dance team pose for a photo after their Funk routine Thursday in Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center main court. Kneeling, left to right, are seniors Shaelynn Lee, Amelia Yadao, Laura Gibb, Stella Moran, Haylee Baxter, Isabella Cadigan McAdoo, Reonna Maloney, Serena Crupi and Bristol Casperson. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé dance team seniors, left-to-right, Officer Shae (Shalynn) Lee, Stella Moran, Captain Bella (Isabella) Cadigan McAdoo, Officer Serena Crup, 1st Lieutenant Reonna Maloney, 1st Lieutenant Bristol Casperson, Officer Haylee Baxter, Officer Aya (Amelia) Yadao and Laura Gibb pose for a photo Thursday at the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 3A/4A Basketball State Championships in Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Members of the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé dance team perform their Hip Hop routine Friday at the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 3A/4A Basketball State Championships in Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé dance team performs their Pom routine Friday at the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 3A/4A Basketball State Championships in Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé dance team performs their Military March routine Friday at the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 3A/4A Basketball State Championships in Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé dance team performs their Military March routine Friday at the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 3A/4A Basketball State Championships in Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé dance team performs a portion of their Region V tournament routine during halftime of the East Anchorage/Ketchikan state championship game Saturday at the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 3A/4A Basketball State Championships in Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)