Lehman High School’s Star Strutters officers earned a Halftime Entertainment Leadership Staff Award at their San Marcos workshop this summer. The group included (left to right) Lieutenant Alexis Cervantes, Senior Captain Juliana Acosta-Torres, Director Barbara Stangler and Lieutenants Amber Luna and Sabrina Mora. (Courtesy photos)

The Star Strutters from Lehman High attending Crowd Pleasers Dance Camp this summer included (back, left to right) Alexia Rodriguez, Kathleen Rizo, Amber Endicott, T’neal Haes, Leesa Barka, Brianna Cadriel, Julie Burfield, Director Barbara Stangler; (center, left to right) Andrea Hinojosa, Esbeydi Diego, Shanise Felder, Diana Cardova, Crystal Luna, Marisa Arenas, Cinthya Quinonez; (front, left to right) Crowd Pleasers staffer “Ashley,” Lieutenants Sabrina Mora, Amber Luna, Alexis Cervantes, Captain Juliana Acosta-Torres, Melissa Whited, staffer “Casey,” Not pictured: Daphne Rich.

by JIM CULLEN

Generating that intangible “spirit” has never been a problem at Lehman High School and prominent among the groups helping generate that spirit is the Star Strutters Dance Team under the direction of Barbara Stangler. But it doesn’t come without work or preparation and those wheels have been turning all summer, the results of which are a team ready for 2010-11 and sporting a number of team and individual honors.

Halftime Entertainment’s Dance Officer Line Camp provided the first opportunity for Lehman’s strong contingent to show what they could do. Staged at the Embassy Suites in San Marcos, the rigorous camp offered plenty of challenge for the Star Strutters’ Senior Captain Juliana Acosta-Torres and Lieutenants Alexis Cervantes, Amber Luna and Sabrina Mora.

The girls attended a number of leadership classes and learned dance routines. On the final day of the four-day camp, the officers performed an original choreography piece. They received a Leadership Staff Award for their camp-long performance from the sponsors.

More recently, the entire Star Strutters team took part in a locally-held private camp, then traveled to the T-BAR-M resort in New Braunfels, where they learned football game and pep rally routines, did team-building activities and completed a ropes course.

Highlighting the summer camp results was the naming of a number of the Star Strutters to the All-Star Team, including Alexis Cervantes, Sabrina Mora, Esbeydi Diego, Shanise Felder, Juliana Acosta-Torres, Amber Luna and Julie Burfield.

Sponsor Barbara Stangler, now in her sixth year of leading the team, descibes her latest squad of Star Strutters with enthusiasm. “I am very excited for this year. We have a smaller group, but the team is full of very responsible, dedicated students.”