I can find no clues to what form of dancing they are talking about, but all the language is about competition and sport. So, there's plenty of battle, but not much dance. I am often confused by the rituals in lands with different cultural traditions; please help me out:

Battle Mountain Dance
From Vail Daily


Ali Canepa
Battle Mountain High School
Sport: Dance
Coaches: Beezley
Position: Captain
Nickname: Big Al
Age: 16
Class of: 2005
What’s the best part about practice? Warm up and team jokes.
What’s something that you personally do to help your team achieve a team goal? I try to be positive as well as other constructive advice. I also try to keep a comfort level where people feel comfortable enough to talk to me.
Who’s your rival? Probably Eagle Valley – they have always been our biggest rival.
Who’s the best leader on your team? I believe that everyone expresses great leadership qualities and it’s always fun and interesting to see each person’s leadership techniques.

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<small>[ 19 September 2003, 10:56 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Stuart, a dance team, as far as I can tell, is a dance group that performs at athletic events and social events. I picked a website (at random) for a university dance team (Marywood University):
http://members.tripod.com/mudancers/MUdanceteam/

I guess they also have competitions among the teams, which means standardized movements.

<small>[ 19 September 2003, 11:20 AM: Message edited by: djb ]</small>

Notes to the Coach:

1. Mary Lou, I notice that Donna (second row from the back on the right) has a smile deficit. Can you issue a first warning and arrange extra classes for her? If you check your Dance Team Handbook, you’ll see the minimum enamel exposure at all times is 1 cm. I'd hate to lose our upcoming “friendly” match with the University of Poughkeepsie due to Donna’s semi-scowl.

2. Please give Sharleen (third row from the back, in the middle) a written commendation for her exceptional smile, which sets a Lompoc Cup winning standard. Go Team!

3. How about this for our new Team Motto:

“It’s not about art, it’s about winning.”

Now, Stuart -- be nice.

I watched part of a televised dance team competition once. It was the national finals, and I was quite impressed by the level of technique many of the dancers had. But I found that sort of regimentation very unappealing.

Your mention of Lompoc surprised me. Have you been there, or did you just see the name and like it?

"Now, Stuart -- be nice."

That's like saying:

"Now, Torquemada -- be gentle." (info on Torquemada)

Lompoc is a location of choice in the films and gags of W.C. Fields (a personal favourite):

In Lompoc, a W.C. Fields trip for two
An amble in the comedian's footsteps yields enough history and hospitality to keep spirits high. By Barry Zwick, LA Times Staff Writer

W.C. Fields' 1940 movie classic is set in Lompoc, and my wife, Bobbie, and I have seen it countless times (and, of course, know the depiction of locals is fictional). In October, we decided to walk in Fields' footsteps.

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Getting back to the dance squad, I'm unaware of a parallel development in the UK. I fully understand that you find the "regimentation very unappealing."

<small>[ 20 September 2003, 01:53 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Thanks, Torque...I mean, Stuart -- I didn't know about the W.C. Fields-Lompoc connection. (I read that he mispronounced the name in the movie - the second syllable should be pronounced "poke".)

I remember Lompoc fondly because in the bathroom of a gas station along the highway in Lompoc (ca. 1965) there was a roll of toilet paper that was the most gorgeous shade of deep, lavender-pink. I never saw anything like it before or since. (Who makes toilet paper that color?) I even carried a square of it folded up in my wallet for a year, hoping to find some yarn or fabric to match it.

<small>[ 20 September 2003, 03:24 AM: Message edited by: djb ]</small>