By Diya Ramesh (‘23)

“2, 4, 6, 8, who do we appreciate? (Insert Freshmen/Sophomores/Juniors/Seniors here)! G-O-I-A-C. What does that spell? Goooooo IA Central!” If you’re looking for class/school spirit, IA is the best place to, and that’s never been better shown than during the famous IA Olympics. Due to the COVID-19 pandemics, the traditional Olympics have been turned into Mini-Olympics. One highlight of these events is the half-time cheer competition. Each grade has to choreograph a dance set to a mixtape of their creation. Who will emerge victorious? Read on to find out.

The cheer routines were created entirely by the participating students. Within each grade, a student volunteers to choreograph the dance and lead their peers. Representing the freshmen is Giulia Pincetti, leading the sophomores is Margaret delaFuente, and taking charge of the juniors is Ishaan Aravindaksha and Alanna Qiu. 

Cheering involves a lot more than just having fun and dancing though. It is no easy feat, because there are so many complex elements that have to be intricately woven together with a lot of hard work and dedication to produce one great performance. Tasawwar, one of the junior class officers organizing the event, emphasized the importance of scheduling and having all dancers present at practices. Formations are especially difficult to create without a concrete idea of who’s in and who’s not. Not to mention the fact that each grade had to practice extensively to ultimately create the final dance. He explained how his team met after school almost everyday this week, in addition to many other practices. As Giulia similarly discussed, “We have been practicing everyday for the past two weeks at lunch for 10 mins and little progress was made, so meeting out of school and at home practice was essential with video checks!” Maggie also explained her team’s practice schedule, stating, “We have practiced once after school and during B day lunches for the past two weeks and I’m really proud of how far we’ve come!”

Now, let’s dive deeper into each routine.  Each one had its own unique spin and managed to wow the crowd with its creativity and spirit.

The freshmen dance was truly inspirational. Out of all the grades, this class has had one of the most difficult experiences. The pandemic has prevented them from having the traditional IA experience and likely created barriers in class bonding. However, the freshman definitely rose to the challenge. As Giulia put it, their formation and dance to the hit song “Señorita” represents the emotions of the song’s creators, the dating duo Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. The freshmen girls played the role of Canadian singer Shawn Mendes, while the boys, clad in dresses, portrayed former Fifth Harmony singer Camila Cabello. Extra credit for analysis of symbolism and diction in the song. You made the IB proud! Their dance definitely set the bar high for the rest of the performances as well with their use of color-coordinated outfits and unique dance moves to match the song lyrics.

Next up was the sophomore class. From their perfectly matching outfits to their flawless lifts and formation switches, the sophomores truly embodied the spirit of dance. Their Britney Spears mixtape left the crowd cheering, and their moves were lively and on-the-beat. The sophomore class has also faced some additional challenges. They have also never fully finished out a normal year of school, but as you can probably guess, that didn’t stop them from putting their game face on. Their transitions were smooth, and their coordination was perfect. I’d say they’re ready to go on a world tour and win dance competitions year-round!

Last but certainly not least was the junior class. These dancers certainly know how to make a dramatic entrance. From the moment they walked in from the woods while swaying to classical music in their maid outfits, the crowd was left speechless but couldn’t look away. They began with a classic from One Direction while yelling out lyrics to the songs. Later on, they transitioned to songs like “Bom Diggy,” “Low,” “(Girls) Run the World” among others. And of course involved some great stunts and lifts. The junior class truly brought out the spirit of IA and showed our fun side. As Tasawwar put it, their rule was to be “50% good, 25% cringe, and 25%…” Well, I’ll let you figure out that last 25% for yourself.

Now, I know you’re dying to know the results, but let’s just take a moment to explain the motivation behind this event of the Mini-Olympics. As Tasawwar explained, his grade, the current junior class, is the only grade left at the school that ever had the opportunity to participate in a similar event in previous years. It was one of his favorite events, and he knew that his peers enjoyed it greatly, as well. Tasawwar decided that he was going to ensure that the tradition lived on at the IA. This way, we can create many more memorable moments with our friends and classmates that we can always look back on with a smile.

For those of you who have made it this far in the article, congratulations, because we are finally at the moment you have all been waiting for: the results. Drumroll please!

In 3rd Place is…

The freshmen!

In 2nd Place is…

The sophomores!

In 1st Place is…

The juniors!

Congratulations to all of the teams for their hard work and class spirit! We have loved all the effort you took to make this event a success!