On Jan. 19 and 20, the dance team went to the Lee’s Summit Invitational at Lee’s Summit North High School.
“I think it went pretty well. It was our first regional competition and everyone was really excited because it’s the first competition to start off the season; we have been preparing for it for a while,” Maya Pharathikoune, 11, said.
The team placed fifth in their game day competition routine and eighth in their jazz routine. As well as the team’s captains placing eighth in their duet.
One of the team’s struggles is the fact that they are a smaller team, but are included in a bigger division because of how big the school is. Due to this, they are faced with bigger teams.
“Lee’s Summit is probably one of the most difficult competitions that we go to. I would even say more so than state just because we take multiple routines and also we are up against Kansas and Missouri schools, so we are up against double the schools. It’s a huge competition, but I really feel like our team pulls our own weight,” Kelsea Stueve, dance coach, said.
There is a lot of preparation leading up to competition days. From cleaning up routines to trying on costumes, the team works together to make sure they are ready for the competition.
“At practice I will say me and my other co-captain are pretty tough on [the team]. We try to have intense practices so when we get to competition we are not cracking under pressure as much, but we also try to motivate and support,” Pharathikoune said.
The pressure of competition days can be nerve racking, so the girls on the team find their own ways to ease their thoughts.
“I do this, but also the whole team does this, we just put headphones in and don’t talk to each other. We just listen to music,” Skylar Kilbey, 9, said.
Although these days can come with stress, there are moments to highlight between the chaos.
“My favorite thing about competitions is that there is a lot of downtime in between routines when we get to do a lot of team bonding. [We get] that time away from school and away from practicing where we can just relax and talk,” Stueve said.
Connecting and supporting each other is a part of being a team. As a group, a ritual can help them feel more confident before their performance.
“Before we go on we always do this chant and it just gets us hyped before we go on,” Kilbey said.
Whatever the outcome is after competitions, the team is always striving to improve and strengthen their skills.
“They worked really hard and it’s fun to go to competition, but I feel like at the end of the day as long as we are growing and learning and getting better as dancers, then I’m always happy with what they put out at competitions,” Stueve said.
