Hyline members were back in class Monday, after a four-day trip to New York City Sept. 25-28, trading their hats and boots for nights in Times Square.
Every other year, the team travels to gain professional insights of dance together in order to deepen their bonds and explore new artistic perspectives. From tourist sights such as the One World Observatory and a ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty, to touring Radio City and meeting a Rockette, their four days were packed.
“We took our team trip to New York two years ago, so we wanted an itinerary that included different things for the seniors than what they experienced as sophomores,” Hyline director Lindsay Joe said.
The commitment to providing a fresh experience for the seniors offered the team a mix of entertainment, professional dance development and access to the most popular tourist attractions in NYC.
The itinerary featured two acclaimed Broadway productions: “Maybe Happy Ending” and “Hell’s Kitchen.” They chose shows well. “Maybe Happy Ending,” won the 2025 Tony Award for Best Musical, and “Hell’s Kitchen’s” energetic choreography did not disappoint the group when they attended.
“I cannot believe we got so lucky to be in the audience of the broadway show “Hell’s Kitchen” on the night Alicia Keys had a surprise appearance,” Joe said. “‘The show is written loosely about Alicia Key’s life, and all the music in the show was written by her, but she had never performed on a Broadway show stage before. She decided to make a surprise appearance at the end of the show, and then stay and have an encore session. It was so incredible being able to hear her perform in such an intimate setting.”
During their dance master class taught by Niki Saludez, an original ensemble dancer in “Hell’s Kitchen,” the team learned the actual street jazz/hip hop choreography from the show’s closing number, set to “Empire State of Mind.”
“We took a master class with one of the dancers in the Hell’s Kitchen musical, and it was so fun,” senior first lieutenant Julia Villareal said. “We also got to meet with him after we went and watched the show. It was so much fun, a
nd our teacher was really inviting, which made it so much more relaxed and less formal.”
Saludez hosted a Q&A session, offering Hyline members insight into his journey to Broadway and the reality of a performer’s life. Villareal appreciated the master class’s focus on artistic choices and taking risks in movement offered a valuable, broader view for the precision drill team dancers to carry the rest of the season.
When they saw the show on Broadway, Saludez met the team at the door, signed their playbills and spoke to them about what they thought of the performance. Hyline members also had a surprise at the show.
Aside from exploring New York City and learning from a professional Broadway dancer, the girls had plenty of time together to bond and become closer.
“It’s really neat to see the team bond as they experience a new city together,” Joe said. “We play a game to get roommates for the trip, so the girls are rooming with team members they maybe normally wouldn’t have. Getting them out of their comfort zone of the same friend group helps in the process of team bonding.”
Joe’s emphasis on team dynamics was a focus for the dancers too.
“The most valuable takeaway from this trip is that everything we do does not have to be about dance,” Villareal said. “Obviously a lot of us are focused on football games, Spotlight, contests and Zenith, but taking time to do things together outside of practice makes us so much closer as a team.”
Now back in Austin, the team is back to perfecting their football halftime routines for upcoming games. In addition to their field performances, the dancers have also begun to polish their Jazz and Funky Co routines, and the officers are preparing their Officer Jazz routine for Spotlight Nov. 4.
