However they finish at the Class ‘AA’ state dance meet, the Packers are certain to raise some eyebrows.

When they competed out in the Section 1AA dance meet, they hadn’t even started their performance and the entire gym was buzzing.

“The girls did their countdown and they hit a face,” Austin head coach Jen Sims said. “A murmur went through the gym and I didn’t think they’d hear the music. I was stunned at the reaction. We felt that was exciting.”

The reaction came because the Packer dance team’s ‘face’ resembled more of a vampire on the hunt or some other fierce creature.

The Packers’ high kick routine also features the metal sounds of Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ and Marlyn Manson’s ‘Beautiful People.’

“We were looking for something different and Marni Rohr played the Metallica song for me. I liked it and searching for more music like it,” Jen said. “We just started piecing music together and it kind of evolved.”

The Packer dance team has embraced the edgy routine and Austin senior Taryn Sims said it was the favorite routines she’s done with the squad.

“We love it. For me, I like the hardcore music when we’re dancing,” Taryn said. “It’s much easier to stay in character and push through to the end. The Metallica and Marilyn Manson songs really propel you and you really get into character when you put on the dark makeup. It’s more theatrical than anything else we’ve done.”

The Packers will compete in the Class ‘AA’ state preliminaries at Target Center in Minneapolis Saturday at 2 p.m. The Packers must place in the top six out of 12 teams to advance to the finals, which take place at 7:15 p.m. Saturday.