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02/02/2011 11:00 PMAlyssa Rafter says that her fellow students at Branford High School sometimes chided her for being on the Hornets' dance team during her freshman year due to the perception among some people that competitive dance is not a sport.
"People made fun of me for being on the dance team," Alyssa says.
As it turns out, Alyssa is the one having fun-and also, the last laugh-as she's contributed to state titles in all three of her seasons with Branford's dance team, which has captured Connecticut's crown in the Small Varsity Hip-Hop Division the past four seasons. And for anyone who's still pondering the notion of whether competitive dance is a sport, simply look around the gym at Branford High School and you'll see the dance's squad's championship banners right next to those from the other Hornets' teams.
"It was hard being a freshman and having everyone tell me all that stuff about dance," says Alyssa, who's now a senior captain with the Hornets. "So it felt really good when we won the state title my freshman year and I showed my medal to all the people who made fun of me. I feel like I'm on top of the world when I think about what we've accomplished."
Alyssa has been dancing since she was five and performed in her fair share of recitals at the All That Jazz studio in Branford. But it wasn't until she was a freshman at the high school that Alyssa contemplated the idea of dancing competitively when one of her friends on the squad suggested she try out. Alyssa says she was nervous trying out for a defending state champion Hornets' team as a freshman and "jumped for joy" when she found out she'd made the squad. Alyssa then found out that she not only enjoys the competitive aspect of dance, but also fell in love with the hip-hop style.
"Dancing has always been my passion and way to express myself, but I never really danced competitively until I went to Branford and found that I loved that amazing feeling of sharing in a good routine or a victory with my teammates and knowing that we worked hard to get it," Alyssa says. "I also found that hip-hop was my favorite type of dance. I really think that's the best type of dance to show other people who you are by putting your personality into a routine."
Having positive personalities has played a major role for the Hornets in their success these past few years and Alyssa isn't shy about saying "you need to have the attitude that you will win no matter what and let the audience and judges see that."
Clearly, the judges at the state championship saw that from Branford in each of the past four seasons as the Hornets emerged victorious each time. Then to top it off last season, Branford won a national title in the Small Varsity Hip-Hop Division.
"The fact that I was joining a team that was already successful my freshman year pushed me because I really wanted to be part of them having more success," Alyssa says. "I think last year's state title was the most memorable one because it meant those seniors had won it in all four of their years with the team. Now I want us to win at states again this year so I can say we won it in all four of my years with the team."
Winning a fifth-consecutive state championship certainly won't come easy for the Hornets this year as they're a young team, although Alyssa is still optimistic that can happen, saying "we're all working hard to make our routine as clean as possible."
In fact, Hornets' coach Jackie Dunn says that she and Alyssa recently spoke on the phone for a half-an-hour about ways for Branford to refine its routine and feels that Alyssa is the perfect senior captain to lead the team's drive for five.
"Alyssa is a great athlete and a strong dancer. She has energy on the floor like I've never seen," Dunn says. "There is not a move that Alyssa can't do because no matter how difficult it is, she'll practice it 100 times if she has to. And as a captain, Alyssa does great job of teaching demonstrating to her teammates how certain moves are done and also inspires them by giving them pep talks. Alyssa puts 100-percent of her heart into everything we do."