Within the walls of Highland Park High School, nestled cozily in between a locker room and its showers, is a bona fide keeper of tradition.
Her office is far from fancy, which makes sense, because it’s easy to see that Highland Belles Director Shannon Phillips’ job isn’t always pretty.
She holds the task of managing and sponsoring (with an assistant) the school’s storied dance team. And in only her second year as director, she’s leading the organization through its 30-year anniversary.
“I love [Belles] tradition. I’m only the third director in those thirty years, and because of that, there’s a lot of continuity from year to year,” Phillips said.
What is so “traditional” about the Belles?
For starters, they don’t dance modern, lyrical styles of dance. Everything they do falls into four categories: kick, pom, jazz, and military. No part of their uniform has changed in three decades; they never dance along to the band (but instead, to popular music); and their visual effects are always the same.
In 1983, some HPHS girls made a push for more female-friendly activities on campus, knowing they wanted a drill team that stood out among competitors.
The Belles were born that year. The first director, Cathy Wheat, set the tone for what the team would represent, and it stuck.
Whenever Phillips was invited to judge Belles tryouts in December 2011, something about the girls and their talent enticed her.
“I remember thinking, ‘if I get back into full-time directing, this would be a team I’d be interested in,’” she said.
Within months, the position of director was open, and Phillips applied the day it was posted.
Following teaching stints in Austin, Richardson, and at Lake Highlands High, she said, “there was always a tug for me to come back into drill team.” And the Belles are in good company. Phillips was a sergeant and captain of the Kilgore Rangerettes in her heyday, and she’s been teaching dance for 12 years. Her temperament is warm (nothing like what you’d see from Dance Moms’ signature dance instructor, Abby Lee Miller), but that of someone a student wouldn’t want to disappoint.
“Most all of [the Belles] get the reason why I’m so tough. I’m always responsible for making the best decision for 60-plus girls, and oftentimes that doesn’t seem like the best one for one girl,” she said. But, dance, like anything else athletic, is all about discipline, and she has to be consistent across the board in disciplining the Belles.
Once she gained respect from her student dancers, Phillips said, they were ready to embrace her, although she has eased her way into an authoritative role.
“My goal has always been not to make too many changes until I have experienced it all one time,” she said.
Telling her girls to point their toes and “spot” during turns is not her main gig. “A lot [of my responsibilities] are administrative,” and “managing the personalities of 60-plus teenage girls is time-consuming,” Phillips said. (Over 60 for a drill team is pretty unusual; that is a lot of moving parts).
The daily game plan for the Belles goes something like this: show up to practice at 6:45 a.m. (because if you’re late more than once in a semester, you’ll get bumped out of a routine), stretch with the group for ten minutes, and start working on the next performance(s). After they work to perfect their dances, Phillips releases the Belles to a full day of classes.
The dancers are also subject to a regimented conditioning plan – but surprisingly, it doesn’t include long-distance running or weight-lifting.
“We try to be in shape with what we do,” Phillips said. From March to two-a-days in August, the Belles work up to kicking nonstop for 45-50 minutes across the gym floor during their practices. Now, they’re preparing to compete at nationals - the Contest of Champions National Competition at Disney World in Orlando. In order to make their way to Florida (and spend a few days soaking up Disneyworld) the Belles Booster Club supported the Belles through their primary fundraiser, the Spaghetti Supper and Silent Auction held in September.
The Belles received their highest-placing award ever last year during Phillips' inaugural season as director, winning third overall. The year before, the Belles placed 15th. In other words, Phillips and the Belles are feeling the pressure.
Even given Phillips’ no-nonsense approach and past Belles policy, when the girls had an official weight limit, Phillips said there’s no such thing these days.
“There used to be weight requirements, but we just ask the girls to stay fit and healthy,” she said. Luckily, that isn’t too big of a task for a community as health-conscious as the Park Cities, Phillips said.
Phillips said she has learned much about her coaching style over the years.
“I started out as a director, line member, and lieutenant all rolled into one,” she said. “As I’ve matured in this career, I’ve seen, the more of this experience my students can actively take ownership of, the better it prepares them for later on in life.”
Belles learn how to carry themselves as responsible young women ready to break into life-outside-of-high-school, she said. Routine are honest discussions about drugs, alcohol and relationships with male classmates, she said.
But, it’s the little things that make Phillips proud of her team. Walking into practices when the Belles are “working happily alongside each other in an honorable way” shows Phillips that she has done her job. Still, she doesn’t take all the credit.
“I probably owe a lot of thanks to those girls 30 years ago, 25, 20 years ago that have consistently held that standard,” Phillips said.
At Highland Park High School, it’s called tradition.
You can catch the Highland Belles at their first competition at Grapevine High School on Saturday, Feb. 9.