Well, as most of you know, I have been involved with Minnesota High School Dance Team for a long time. I first started coaching in the fall of 1975, before most of you were even born. This year I begin my 42nd season coaching.
Then when we wanted to cut music, we literally cut the tape at hopefully the right location and used scotch tape to tape the ends together. Not perfect, but it did work. I remember at times using a vinyl record to practice with and also used a record player at basketball games when we performed. I had the record player on the floor at the side of the gym and held a microphone up to it. I hoped that no one would walk firmly by the record player and cause the record to skip while the girls were dancing. That did happen several times. I am sure I gave some interesting looks to people walking by if they were walking too firmly on the gym floor. The girls got pretty good at responding to the skips in the music!
Then the new big invention happened – the cassette tape! This was much easier to work with, but we still but music in the same way, by cutting the tape and taping the ends together. Again, not flawless, but it worked. Since then, the evolution is one that you all know. Next moving to CD’s and now our music played on computers, iPads, iPods and MP3 players. Changing speed and adjusting music to customize it is so easy these days.
Life is so much easier in the dance team world with the electronic advancements we have today. Yeah for the evolution of how to deliver music!!
Leslie Swiggum
Wayzata Dance Team Co-Head Coach
MADT Board of Directors
