UPDate on State:  The Dance team took fifth place in both the pom and jazz competition.

The NDA Dance Team is headed for state this weekend in La Crosse, Wisconsin, after qualifying for the state competition at regionals in both their pom and jazz routines.

More times than not, one can see the dance team practicing in the Commons because the other sports teams are practicing in the gyms. Although this may not be ideal, it hasn’t stopped the dance team from being successful.

The dance season is not the same as a typical sports season. For example, senior captain El Hein explained that the dance tryouts typically begin in April, and after that they start practicing in June three days a week for two hours.

“It continues like this until competition season starts in November,” she continued. “Then we practice five days a week for 2 ½ hours. After the state competition in February, we continue to dance until basketball season ends in March, and then it all starts back up again with tryouts again in April.”

Theirs is a very rigorous season that goes year-round and requires an extensive amount of dedication from its members.

According to Hein, the demands of the season have only made them closer. “Our team has grown and improved tremendously from where we started in the summer, and I’m extremely proud of how hard we’ve worked together.”

The three captains this year, junior Maddie VanSaders and seniors Hein and Jordan Saari, have said that they are “responsible for getting the team pumped up to perform, planning team activities and making sure everyone is feeling confident with their parts in the routines.”

Hein is most proud of the dance team for “growing and improving tremendously from where we started in the summer, and for how hard we’ve worked together.”

They are always looking to improve their routines, and Hein’s goals for the state competition are to “reflect our successful season in our performances. We want to be better than the team we were at our past competitions, and we want to go out there to dance our best and have fun while doing it.”

The coaches for NDA’s dance team are Sara Konop, an NDA dance team alumni, and Laura Renier. These two coaches have obviously enhanced the team’s success, and Hein called them out for their dedication, saying “they have done great things to change our team for the better.”

A send-off at the start of school on Friday included a prayer and blessing in the Atrium.

Although VanSaders does not think many people will come watch the competition since it is four hours away, she knows “we will have many fans cheering us on from Green Bay.”

The competition will take place Saturday, and the team will return to Green Bay on Sunday.