Cassidy Vermeer has a simple - yet strong - keyword for her Iowa Central Dance Team this season.

Different.

While working through the changes laid out before them, the Tritons have been given a handful of opportunities to perform at live events with more highlights to come.

"The dance team is so very lucky and blessed that Iowa Central has provided ways to ensure safety for the dancers to allow them to still able to perform and compete to some capacity," Vermeer said. "Things have looked different this year from what we are used to, but as a coach, I had to tell myself that, as well as my team, 'different' doesn't necessarily mean bad. There are many schools and teams that have shut down completely so being able to do a little bit of what we love is better than doing nothing and we feel very lucky and supported.

"This year we have had to adapt and accept new ways of doing things. We have had to get used to wearing masks pretty much at all times even when we are performing and still be able to show through the masks our energy, facials, excitement and more. We have had to get used to checking everyone's temperatures daily as well as cleaning and sanitizing our studio practice space more than we normally would. During our competitive routines, we were not allowed to touch and had to be six-feet apart. So choreography and creativity were challenging to maintain when we couldn't do any partner tricks or group lifts. 

"When we competed at the state competition normally, it is a jam-packed arena and this year we were allowed to have very few spectators. So the environment was different but again, we still were able to compete in person where some other teams had to compete virtually or couldn't compete even at all. Some of our family members were still able to come watch and cheer us on while following CDC guidelines still."

One change has been the year-end "Curtain Call" event that the team uses as a fundraiser. 

"Normally we host this event in the Decker Auditorium, but due to COVID restrictions, no large groups or crowds are allowed in the auditorium and so we are moving our show to a different location," she said. "We will be holding our show in our Hodges Fieldhouse gym. The setup will be completely different, we will have fewer people being able to attend in person, and we will be live-streaming it for the people who couldn't come.

Iowa Central is still planning to attend nationals in Daytona this April to compete in-person. They are ranked third and have won all three state titles in the community college division in 2019 and 2020.

"At first it seemed almost impossible to change things to make it even remotely similar to a normal year," Vermeer said. "As time went on, it was just a matter of having to accept this change. It's either this or nothing and myself and the team refused to have nothing. We brainstormed a lot with other coaches and teams and bounced off ideas from each other for ways to still have a presence within our sport. COVID became one of the first things we thought about when deciding what or how to do something before any decision could ever be made. Honestly, some of the changes we have had to make ended up being good changes that we will probably continue to do or use post-COVID times It is all about our mindset too. We have forced ourselves to believe that no matter what we do or how we do it, it is still going to be a positive experience. Our mantra of our season has truly been 'If they tell us there is no way, we will find and make a way,' and that 'different doesn't necessarily mean bad.'

"We can't thank Iowa Central and the administration enough for always having our backs, supporting us, and helping find ways for us to have as 'normal' of a season as possible."

-By Dana Becker