The Senior Sweeps performance at the Homecoming pep rally is one of many traditions at Rockville High School.
From the stands, the performance typically entails kicklines and popular dance moves performed by the poms team alongside senior boys. However, the preparation is often overlooked by the audience.
“Like it was definitely long, tedious,” senior poms captain Ammy Huamani said. “But we like picking out different moves that’ll make the guy sort of stand out and make the crowd like super loud and have fun while watching.”
With the high expectations to entertain, figuring out the choreography turned out to be more complicated than the team thought.
“Some challenges we faced were deciding on formations and deciding what moves exactly we want to do,” Huamani said. “We know, like, some things that we do are limited, so we have to really think about that.”
The choreography was only one element of the process; the most important part being finding people willing to sign up.
“A lot of our boys don’t want to, and obviously it’s not something everyone wants to do, but I think that’s like the hardest part is getting people to do it and actually like showing up to practices and being committed,” poms member Valeria Nolasco said.
Like Nolasco said, the performance isn’t for everyone, but for some at Rockville High School, the opportunity to perform has been highly anticipated.
“I decided to enter sweeps because I remember how my friend Julio and I agreed in sophomore year to do it and when we heard that the practices were starting up again we didn’t think twice,” senior German Diaz said.
The performance’s importance to the seniors transcends just the laughter and smiles it brings. For the poms team, getting to perform with the guys in their class is a rite of passage that they have been looking forward to throughout their time on the team.
“I think this year’s performance is going to be so, like, different for me, just because I’m a senior now,” Nolasco said. “So, like, I know the senior boys, like when I did the past years, like, I didn’t know my partner as much as I do now.”
