Once again, the Highlands Varsity Dance Team has made it to nationals, a dance competition against the best teams in the nation. This isn’t the first time the team has made it, and their goal is to win.
The dance team has a few weeks to prepare before they fly out to Orlando, Florida on March 7 to compete in nationals at NDA (Notre Dame Academy). They have been training since the summer, their season going through both the football and basketball seasons.
The varsity dance coach, Ashley Wrobleski, explains the competitions: “There are over 3,200 dancers competing at NDA nationals across 34 states. There are 550 routines. We will compete against 28 in the Pom division and 36 in the Hip Hop division.”
There is a lot of competition, but after asking about who their biggest competitor is, Wrobleski said: “Ultimately, we are competing against the score. As long as we can execute our routine to the best of our ability we should be able to rise above our competitors.” With the competition coming up fast, and the stakes so high, most would be stressing out, but the team is confident they can succeed.
When asked if the team was ready, Senior Belle Fischer said: “I think we are getting there. Our goal is to peak at nationals, not right before it, but I feel a lot more prepared this year than I have in the past.”
The dance competition has three parts- pom, hip-hop, and finals. Hip-hop is on the first day of the competition, pom on the second, and finals on the last. According to freshman Sarah Steidenvarsity dancer who will be dancing in nationals, the team has been training doubly hard for this competition.
Steiden said: “Our coaches have been pulling guests from other teams and schools to give us pointers. We’re really excited.” Clearly, the team has been busy.
Special guests offering pointers isn’t the only change before nationals. Freshman Cate Fischer also mentioned the extra training when she said: “We’ve been training in different practice locations to get used to dancing on a Marley floor which is the same as the nationals floor. We’ve also had more practices than we usually do.”
Of course, just getting into nationals isn’t easy, and the dance team had to work hard to get to where they are now. Belle Fischer, a dancer in her senior year at Highlands, explained the process.
Fischer said: “We go to a UDA (Universal Dance Association) camp. We learn a routine that weekend, practice it, and perform it at the end of the weekend. All the teams are judged, and how we score on that decides a lot, including whether or not we get into nationals.”
Stieden said: “The goal is to make finals. I mean, we want to win.”
It’s a tall order, but the Highlands dance team is ready. They will leave on March 7. So, if you see a dancer in the hallway, just remember to wish them luck in nationals.