De Soto High School’s Diamonds dance team performed their annual guy-girl dance routine with the help of the “Diamond Dudes”.

During halftime of the varsity boys’ game, in the Huhtamaki Hardwood Classic, the Diamonds and “Diamond Dudes” performed their dance on Sat. Dec. 12.

“The best thing is everyone coming together and having fun,”  sophomore Alex Hongslo said.

This year’s “Diamond Dudes” were seniors Chandler Fairbanks, Braxton Henry and Noah Lamar, juniors Andrew Dowdy, Taylor Ramseyer, Derek Coffee and Colton Pasquale and Sophomores Mason Taulbee, Leo Oplotnik and Alex Hongslo.

“We get to pick our own partner and we toss around suggestions of who we think would really get into it. If someone can’t find a partner and we give them suggestions as to who should be their partner,” sophomore Elizabeth Seidel said.

The guy-girl dance practices were held either before school at 6 am or after school at 6 pm and began on Nov. 30 and ended on Dec. 11.

“Everyday we came in, we either before or after school practice and we run through all the dances,” Lamar said.

The Diamond Dancers and “Diamond Dudes” danced to four songs, Dear Santa (Bring me a man this Christmas), Alvin and the Chipmunks, Christmas the whole year ‘round and Oh Santa.

“Dance practice is very exciting but also difficult because it’s a lot of really hard work. We only get a certain amount of practices to learn some really hard jumps and lifts and flips,” Ramseyer said.

The addition of the “Diamond Dudes” changes the atmosphere of dance practices.

“Practice is definitely more enthusiastic. The guys just bring a lot of new energy,” Seidel said.