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October 13, 2022By Northwest Catholic, Catholic News Service
SEATTLE (CNS) -- For years, the cheer squad and some courageous teachers have shown off their dance moves during the homecoming assembly at Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle.
It's always a fun moment, but this year something very different happened: A video of the "Supersonic Dance" tradition went viral in a big way.
"On our platforms alone, we have had close to 20 million views worldwide and the video has been reposted by several major outlets, including ESPN, Inside Edition, USA Today, Goodnews Movement, Highlight Her and King5 News," Julie Gallaudet, the Catholic high school's marketing and communications director, said Oct. 4.
Along with those views have come "well over 20,000 comments -- and they are truly heartfelt," Gallaudet told Northwest Catholic, news outlet of the Seattle Archdiocese.
"Love seeing teachers connect with students and just having fun!!!" one commenter said. "Best thing ever! What an incredible school this must be!" another wrote. "It's teachers like that that change lives. Awesome," another person noted.
The video also was reposted on TikTok by the official account of J.J. Fad, the artists who released "Supersonic" in 1988: "Had to repost because @BishopBlanchet rocked this!! You guys are definitely 'Supersonic.'"
During Blanchet's Sept. 23 homecoming assembly, the "Supersonic Dance" was performed twice -- by members of the cheer squad with other students, and again with the cheer members and the teachers.
Gallaudet posted the all-student video on TikTok that afternoon and it quickly got nearly 1 million views. She decided to post the teacher version the next day; by that afternoon, it was up to 4 million views and ESPN was calling about it.
Based on the comments, one of the favorite teacher performers was "yellow pants" -- Taryn Darr, Blanchet's drama director, who has the advantage of a background in professional song, dance and theater.
The student body let out an especially loud cheer for the final teacher in the dance line -- Dom Salle, who teaches social studies and is the head football coach.
According to Gallaudet, the "Supersonic" music has been used since 1989, and the cheer squad-teacher combo has been a tradition for at least 15 years.
The cheer squad members come up with eight-count dance moves, then ask teachers to participate and teach them the moves, she explained. At the assembly, the pairs of cheer students and teachers line up in crouched positions, each pair popping up when it's time to show their moves.
"It's always kind of exciting to see the different dances and the different teachers and the different energy or synergy," Gallaudet said.
She mused that this year's video was so popular because it hit a chord with people after the pandemic, showcasing "the simple joy of high school spirit, the wonderful graciousness of our teachers willing to go above and beyond, the act of just being together post-COVID shutdown (and) having genuine fun at school."
Blanchet is enjoying its viral fame, Gallaudet said.
"It's a great community moment," she said. "It really reflects our culture as a place that supports each other."
The Blanchet video also can be viewed on the school's YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter platforms.
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