Behind the painted backdrop of your class, you sit with classmates like packed sardines dressed in pink and green leotards, poodle skirts or brooms in hand, while nine hundred students file into the gym to watch you perform. Lights are out, and dances are on, and your class is competing to win. The pressure is on to win, but also to have fun.
Airbands is one of the most anticipated school spirit events of the year, with each class creating a dance on a theme to out-dance the others and display the skills they have practiced for. For this year’s Broadway theme, freshmen performed to songs from Mamma Mia!, sophomores to Annie, juniors to Grease, and the winning class, the seniors, to Wicked.
In the three weeks leading up to the big assembly, all participants arrived at school at 7 a.m. to run through their dances and make them spotless up to the first period bell.
Members of Poway Dance Project (PDP) lead and create the dances, teaching classmates the complicated routines.
PDP dancer and senior captain Kezi Thibodeau knows how hard it is to teach a full routine with such a short amount of time.
“Our student dancers did a great job of picking up the choreography, but teaching a whole dance within a few hours is extremely hard even for well trained dancers,” Thibodeau said.
The night before the airbands assembly, at the final dress rehearsal, many say their favorite moments come from seeing all the other classes’ dances and wearing costumes for the first time.
Sophomore Keith “KC” Buswell played the main role of Annie in the sophomores’ dance.
“My favorite memory from airbands this year is probably the rehearsal when I first put on my dress and realized what I had just gotten myself into,” Buswell said.
Then comes the big moment, the assemblies that determine which class has impressed the judges the most while performing their hearts out and giving the students something to root for. The anticipation carries on to the homecoming football game later that night when winners are announced.
After the homecoming game on Oct. 17, the classes performed their airbands one last time in front of hundreds under the Friday night lights with the senior class revealed as the winners, making them back-to-back champions.
“My favorite memory was definitely winning with almost a perfect score. When it was finally announced that the class of 2026 won the competition a wave of relief and excitement went through me,” senior choreographer Thibodeau said.
So many memories come from airbands regardless of the final scores, because of the spirit and hype for the football game.
“Performing after the football game and just seeing everyone and the energy that night has to be my favorite part of the whole thing,” junior Wesley Spaulding who played a main role of Danny in the juniors’ Grease performance said.
Airbands is a great opportunity to get out of your comfort zone and just have fun, surrounded by friends and new peers, being united by school spirit.
