The Wayzata Dance Team is looking forward to the upcoming season as they hope to have success with a more tight-knit team. Wayzata Dance Team is a big name in the Minnesota dance community, holding the third most overall championships in the state with 13.
The Star Tribune also said that Wayzata was the All-Metro Sports Awards Dance Team of the Year for 2024 after not having won at state since 2019 when they swept kick and jazz. The dance program is historically very strong, and the Star Tribune said, “The Trojans won four out of five jazz dance titles between 2006 and 2010 and won again in 2012. Wayzata swept the jazz and high kick divisions in 2019 and won at jazz in 2018.” However, last year they didn’t have the success they were hoping for at state with a 6th place finish in kick and 7th place finish in jazz.
When asked about the environment of the team, sophomore Olivia Chiu, who was on varsity last year, described the team as very energized and said, “it’s a very positive environment.” Even with all the positivity in the team, Chiu said that mental health is pushed away on the team. Speaking about last year, she commented, “It was leave it [your non-dance problems] at the door, and that’s really hard to do- separate dance and school.”
This year, Chiu said that they are going to take the time to practice skills that will keep their mental health positive. That includes ways such as journaling or having groups to talk about things with.
Senior captain Ella Schlecht also talked on the strengthening of their mental health, saying that last year their team culture and confidence wasn’t quite as strong as previous years, due to the loss of many seniors. Since a successful season didn’t come as easy as in the past, Schlecht said, “we got really down and a lot of people were struggling because the season got really hard.”
The team knows that they want to make a change this season to get back to the strength that they once were in the Minnesota dance community. Entering her final season with Wayzata Dance this year, Schlecht said that, as a captain, she wants to be a role model for younger dancers and be someone that comes off as very hardworking and never as someone bossy or superior over them.
Strengthening their already close-knit team isn’t just a task for the dancers, it’s also a task for their highly praised coaching staff. Varsity has been led by head coach Alyse Iorio since 2009, and she is supported by assistant coaches who are all Wayzata Dance Alumni themselves.
When asked about their coaches, Schlecht had all good things to say. She praised their methods, saying, “They’re very stuck on not yelling. They’re very supportive. They’ll be hard on us when they need to, but overall I think we have a really strong coaching staff.”
With these shifts in mentality and a strong coaching staff, the dancers are looking forward to the upcoming season. Chiu said that her goal for the team is to advance to state finals, where they cut the amount of participating teams in half, leaving only 6 teams making it to finals.
Schlecht said that she hopes for a first place finish at sections, something she was able to accomplish in some of her earlier years in the Wayzata dance program. Last year the team came in second at sections, but unlike other sports, the top 3 from each section advance to state rather than just one.
Their mental health is also just one piece of the puzzle. After losing many seniors at the end of their successful 2024 season, they had a team with many new faces last season, leading to some of the struggles they faced. The team is looking to enter the coming season with a greater sense of confidence and togetherness, which should come easier this season than last.
Although some changes are being made for the 2026 season, there are some important elements of the team’s previous culture they want to keep ongoing. Dancers described the team using words like energized and close-knit, which are 2 characteristics that are helpful to be carried on year after year.
This environment is heavily impacted by the shared love all the dancers have for what they do. In fact, when asked about her favorite part of being on the dance team, Chiu commented on how much she loves the people and how passionate they all are about dance.
This shared passion will hopefully help the Trojans reach their high expectations for the coming season. Chiu, who is on the choreography committee for varsity, said that she wants to have a more cohesive feel. Specifically, she said that “we should be stronger and more consistent in our movement.”
She also hopes that they can play to their strengths in dances a bit more. Doing so will help the team’s confidence, which is a goal of many dancers, and in any sport in general, your performance will never be as strong without having confidence.
As said by captain Ella Schlecht, the 2025 season was a “growing year” for the team. Entering 2026, Wayzata Dance is looking to bounce back and return to their past successes. By making a shift in their attention to mental health and entering the season with an even stronger, more confident team, this season should be an exciting one.
