Dance Team placed ninth in the Universal Dance Association National Dance Team Championship in Orlando, Florida, held from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, placing in the single digits for the first time in nine years.
“There are different categories,” said senior captain Muriel Wandey. “We competed in the pom and kick categories, did better in kick, made it to finals in kick and from there on we were ranked ninth out of all of the teams that were in kick.”
Dance Team’s season started in June and lasts through the end of basketball season. From the very beginning, the girls had high hopes for the year.
“We started off the season really strong with just our football routines and going to our camp over the summer,” Wandey said. “We could tell that we were going to have a really strong bond this year and that reflected in the way that we danced out on the floor in competition season.”
The girls have brought home many awards leading up to the UDA competition, placing well at many local competitions.
“We started off competition season with a strong pom performance at the Fairfax Regional Dance Championship, and I think that gave us extra motivation to work hard,” said senior Caroline Fisher. “At GMU we debuted kick and won first in both of our categories, which really gave us confidence in our routines; they’re the best ones since I’ve been on the team.”
Dance team has worked hard to get to where they are now and had to undergo intense training as well as a social media ban at one point.
“I think that we have definitely been worked hard this year, harder than other years in terms of conditioning and focus,” Wandey said. “I think our coach had a lot of faith of us and saw our potential, so the conditioning was a little harder and we weren’t allowed to go on social media so we would focus on school and dance.”
Beyond the practices and performances, another important aspect of Dance Team is the tight-knit relationships that are formed between the girls.
“We have this bond that can’t be replaced,” Wandey said. “I don’t know where I’d be in high school without dance team, so it’s definitely been something that I hold on to. I know these girls are my best friends for life.”