CLHS Dance Team competes at Nationals

(Above) Besides competing at the Dance Team Union Nationals in Orlando, Fla., members of the CLHS Dance Team also had time to take in some sights.  A visit to Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom was one of the highlights.  Pictured front row (L-R): Bella Parker, Sky Toyne, Savannah Williams, Ava Ollenburg and Rylee Smith.  Back row (L-R): Stephanie Penning, Emily LeFevre, Madeline McKenna, Mia DeVries, Bella Clabaugh, Sarah Petersen, Jadyn Heesch, Cale Schmitz, Brooke Schulze, Kourtney Verhalen and Avah Hogg.   -Submitted photo

Team earns some hardware

by Michelle Watson

This past weekend the Clear Lake High School Dance Team traveled to Orlando, Fla. to compete at Dance Team Union Nationals.

The team had two soloists compete on Friday. Sophomore, Mia DeVries, in the junior age group, and junior, Emily LeFevre, in the senior age group.  Each age category had around 80 soloists from around the country.  LeFevre advanced to the semifinals held on Friday evening.  She was chosen as a top seven performance and advanced to the finals held on Sunday evening, where she placed fifth.  

“As a soloist, this was the most talent I have ever seen at a competition,” said Emily.

The team competed in preliminaries on Saturday in Jazz, Pom and Hip Hop.  Both Pom and Hip Hop advanced directly to the finals on Sunday.  

“We knew our Pom performance wasn’t up to our standards, it was the team’s first time on the floor and they had some nerves to get out.  They definitely did, and when they got on the floor for Hip Hop they really brought it,” said Coach Liz LeFevre.

Finals for the team were held on Sunday.  After listening to the previous day’s judges critiques, making some changes to the routines and hours of practice on Saturday and Sunday, the team was feeling prepared for the Finals.

“I was extremely happy with our finals performances,” said Liz LeFevre.  “They were much better than the semifinals and I was very proud of how hard the kids worked leading up to them.”

The team placed sixth in large varsity Pom and third in small varsity Hip Hop.

The team and coaches were extremely happy with the results.  

“Going into Nationals we knew it was going to be an extremely high talent level,” said Liz LeFevre.  “School size had no weight in your Division and we were competing against schools that were over five times the size of our high school.  Third place in small varsity Hip Hop was a huge accomplishment for our team.  And in large varsity Pom we really felt that we held our own.  The winning team had 35 dancers on the floor versus our 14.  To be in the top 10 was outstanding.”

While at Nationals, the team also participated in a Hip Hop Master Class taught by Louisville dance team members.  They had an afternoon at Walt Disney Worlds Magic Kingdom.  They met up with their penpals from the Edison Dance Team, and also cheered on other Iowa teams from Xavier, Des Moines, Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln.