As dance continues to progress as a complex sport with highly trained athletes, the Penn Competition Dance Team gained a new addition to its program. Heather Sadrzadeh has been named the head coach of the Penn Dance program. She replaces Cindi Minegar, who coached numerous state champions in her career before retiring.
Sadrzadeh has been a part of the Indiana High School Dance Team Association for 15 years. Starting at Marian High School, she led the dance team to numerous accomplishments, including multiple appearances at the Indiana State Dance Championship.
Dance has always been a passion for Sadrzadeh, as she found her love for it at a young age. Before working in the IHSDTA, she taught classes in the studio. With her extensive dance experience, along with Alison Minegar’s assistance, the dance team program at Penn High School is in good hands.
Sadrzadeh is bringing new ideas to the dance program, including gameday routines and entering a new category for the team to participate in, Jazz.
“I’m excited to build on an already awesome program,” Sadrzadeh said. “I’m excited to venture into a new category with jazz and excited to see this group compete on a national level again.”
Sadrzadeh’s goal is to help each individual on the team grow, learn new things, and come out of the season with more confidence and skill than they started with. Along with common goals, she is striving for the team to receive high placements like the top three in the state for pom and the top five for jazz.
Penn competes against incredibly strong teams in the IHSDTA, so shaking up the rankings is important for Sadrzadeh. The way dance impacts her will reflect on the future of the Penn Dance Team Program.
“I’ve always had dance in my life. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have it in some capacity,” Sadrzadeh stated.
