Cheer & Dance

Cheer and Dance is offered for students in the Middle and Upper School.

The purpose of the The Independent School Panther Cheerleaders and Dance Team is to promote and uphold team spirit for those we encounter, to develop good sportsmanship by example, and to support good relations in the community between teams and squads during events. The ultimate goal of the cheer team is to act as public relation ambassadors for The Independent School in its entirety.

 

Coaches:

Upper School Cheer: Melissa Threet

Melissa graduated from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, TX where she was also an assistant cheer coach. She was a member of the Midwestern State Cheerleading squad and while attending school at Wichita State, she was a member of the Wichita State Cheerleading squad. Melissa has coached an All-Star squad and been an All-Star Judge.  Besides working on many NAC cheer camps including ones at SMU, she was the assistant director of gymnastics in Wichita Falls and taught cheer and tumbling classes at Air Capitol Gymnastics for 2 years. 

Upper School Dance: Carla (Zimmerman) Bingenheimer

Carla is a 2005 TIS alumi and is a recent graduate with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Communication with a minor in dance from Kansas University.  She was on the dance team when she was a student at Independent and during 2005-2007 performed with the Flare Dance team.


Middle School Cheer: Kelsey Brown

Coach Brown was a cheerleader at University of Kansas and WSU, where she was Captain of the team for 2 years. She also cheered in middle and high school. She was a gymnast from Kindergarten through her Senior year of high school and brings with her nine years of experience coaching cheer.  Coach Brown has been recognized in mastering all the fundamentals of the sport which include movement, chants, safety, dancing techniques, tumbling, spirit and team work. She has been an instructor for the National Cheerleading Association Camps for several years, earning many top places in Nationals, including 2 second place finishes at the National Cheerleading Association College Nationals. For several years she was also a camp instructor for middle school, high school, and college students in cheerleading, including one of the bigger camps at SMU.

 

 

 

2010-2011 Highlights:

Dance Team:
Six members of the dance team attended NDA camp at Emporia State in June 2011. For four days the girls were taught many dances and competed against ten teams from all over Kansas for a variety of awards. Some of the many accomplishments include: all members received superior ribbons and merit ribbons in class dances that were taught at camp, awarded second place overall with a Superior ribbon in Varsity Team Dance, and received an Excellent rating with a score of 8/10 in the Home Routine evaluation. Several other highlights include being awarded the Technical Growth plaque for technique and having two members recognized as All American dancers.Middle School Cheer Camp 2011

Middle School Cheer:

In the fall of 2010 the Middle School cheerleaders went to Heights High School Battle of the Squads and received a #1 rating for their overall routine. During the summer of 2011, the squad attended a three day cheer camp at Kansas State University. On the last day for their "Game-Day Performance" the squad earned the highest ribbon awarded, the superior ribbon for both their cheer and their chant.  The Independent Middle School cheerleaders went on to win the Top Team Award, the most prestigious award presented at the KSU cheer camp, due to landing the highest score for their complete cheer and outstanding stunt.  The girls returned to Wichita with superior ribbons, the Top Team award, a trophy for being the most improved team at camp, the Herkie Team Award, an award that is voted on by the other squads, and a NCA Spirit Stick.  Eleven girls were nominated for All-American.  Ten girls were nominated for their stunting skills and one was nominated for her leadership skills.

Upper School Cheer:

Cheerleading camp in July of 2011 at Kansas State University was huge success for The Independent Upper School Cheer Squad.  The team learned one dance, two cheers and six chants along with various other skills such as intermediate stunts, motion and jump techniques and leadership skills.  A couple of members completed the Captain's class. The Captain's class motivates the squad and helps them create fun activities to lead their team.  Two were also nominated for All-American Cheerleader; one for jump technique and the other for tumbling.  All-American Cheerleader nominations are an award given to cheerleaders who display outstanding skills.  The squad earned a spirit stick on the second and last day of camp allowing them to bring one home. Each team is evaluated on a chant and cheer two days in a row. The squad earned one excellent and one superior rating for chant and two superior ratings for cheer.  A superior rating is the highest award earned for evaluations.

Results from the Nov. 10, 2011 Heights Cheer Show:  After incorporating several advanced jumps, dances, and tumbling with intermediate stunts and pyramids, the cheer team earned two trophies in the jump and stunt categories. 

The cheer team will be performing again during the basketball season.