The Drill on Juggling Dance Team and Dance Class.

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT: Dance team is hot. Pep rallies and basketball and football game halftime shows across the country feature kids of all ages dancing in the name of school spirit. Kids think of it as a cool way to use their dance training to get involved in a school activity, but dance teachers sometimes aren't as pleased, especially if dance team means their students miss dance classes.

Maura is like a lot of kids who study dance and join their school's dance team. While she was thrilled about making the team, her dance teacher wasn't happy about her decision, and Maura, a 13-year-old from Fairfax, Virginia, said she feels torn between her teacher's concerns and her own desire to be on her school's dance team. The subject is so touchy, in fact, that she asked that her real name and that of her dance teacher not be used in this story.

"I mainly joined the team because I wanted to dance in front of my school. I wanted to make new friends. I wanted to have a good, fun, exciting time," Maura said. "My ballet teacher was happy that I made it, but I think she was hoping that I would not make the team so there wouldn't be any complications. It's a touchy subject with my ballet teacher. I feel as though I am being pulled in two different directions, and it gets a little bit stressful at times."

Dance team coaches say kids shouldn't feel they have to make a choice between dance team and taking dance classes. "I don't think of them as separate. I think of them as part of the same thing. Kids who do dance team should also be taking dance classes like jazz and ballet for strength and flexibility," said Jeanine Sabo, a judge and coach who teaches at training camps sponsored by the Universal Dance Association, an organization that oversees many major dance team training camps and competitions, including the championships televised on ESPN.

Cathy Cook, executive coordinator and a past president of Dance/Drill Team Directors of America, Inc., agreed. "If you are already doing dance training, you need to keep that up if you're doing dance team," she said. "The more training you have, the better for your stamina, for your flexibility, for your placement and posture and for avoiding injuries."

Cook added that some top coaches even use part of their practice time for dance technique classes. But the concerns of Maura's teacher mirror those of many dance teachers. Not only does dance team tend to pull their students away from class and rehearsals, but some also say the strong, punchy moves of dance team routines tend to overstress muscles and change a dancer's "look."

"Dance team routines tend to do a lot of pounding to the body. You're punching into jumps. You're punching the arms," said Nancy King, director of the King Centre for the Performing Arts in Wanaque, New Jersey. King has current and former members of her student company who also were on their school's dance team. King said she encourages her students who do dance team to continue coming to ballet class, especially. "You have to still do something else training-wise, like ballet, rope-stretching exercises, Pilates," King said.

Mikal Casalino, a retired dance teacher in Salt Lake City, Utah, said another concern is that teams in her area rely on student members to put together and teach routines. "This makes for an exciting goal for the students," she said. "But this can cause many students to do pieces which are beyond their abilities, which injure them and for which they have no time to warm up properly."

Here are some tips from dance teachers and dance team coaches for dancers who do dance team:

1. Be up-front from the beginning with your dance teacher. Talk face-to-face with your teacher about your dance team schedule.

2. Continue to go to dance class.

3. Listen to your body when doing dance team moves. Prolonged, excruciating pain means you are doing something wrong.

4. Warm up properly before doing dance team routines--start with basic stretches and move gradually into more aerobic movement requiring increasing levels of strength and agility. Some dance teams provide class before events. Skipping a warmup can increase your chances of injuring yourself.

5. Wear proper shoes when doing dance team routines--athletic shoes with firm support or jazz shoes, depending on the type of surface you're dancing on, the level of impact and the type of routine.

6. Be realistic. Don't expect a lead role in The Nutcracker if you're missing classes or rehearsals during the fall because of your dance team commitment.