Conquerettes stand out and snap in their sparkly outfits but they will need money for all those lovely outfits.            

           Being a Conquerette is hard for those who don’t know how to dance or may not have money to buy all the necessary equipment. To solve this problem Conquerettes are gathering their money to buy uniforms and costumes.     

            Dance teachers Gloria Tovar and Melissa Dominguez help the Conquerettes plan for their costume needs. The teachers want the dancers to add flash when dancing. Entrelace and Fuego team teacher Tovar said the price of being on the team can be expensive. 

          “The amount team members pay to be on the team is between $300-$405, depending on whether they are first-year members or returners,” Tovar said.

           Being in the team takes a lot of money and they have expectations to complete while being there. 

           “Students are expected to come to class every day and go “full out” since we are limited on time,” Tovar said. 

          When performing Conquerettes need to be perfect when they dance or they will not be selected to perform.

          “We hold tryouts for every performance. Therefore, if (I) don’t believe they know the dance well enough, they will not perform,” Tovar said. 

           Melissa Dominguez teaches Dance I, II, and IV and coaches the Conquerettes.                       

           Not all the Conquerettes have to pay the total cost of everything they need to have.

           “The total cost is at least $700 for new Conquerettes. For returners they don’t have to pay for everything,” Dominguez said. 

           Returning dancers use the equipment they purchased the year before.

            “If they are new (dancers) they pay $700 for their football boots, warm sets, bags, tights, shorts, jazz tops and shoes,” Dominguez said.

             The cost of costumes can change. 

           “(The costs is) different every year,” Dominguez said.  

         Captain Daisy Perez has been on the team three years.  

           “We do have outfits that we reuse, but we also buy (additional) gear every year,” Perez said.

            Dancers put all their money together to purchase new gear. 

           “I’m not sure how much money we spend on costumes but we usually fund raise,” Perez said.

Being a Conquerette is exciting but can be expensive.

        “For my first year I paid about $800 for all the gear, when (the next year) the price dropped to $300 then $150 (the year after that),” Perez said.