Months of dedication, training, and practices paid off for the EHS dance team as they took the stage once again this year to perform at the annual National Dance Alliance National Competition (NDA).
The NDA works with coaches and dance teams nationwide at camps and competitions to build great individuals and athletes.
Last year, the team walked away from the competition placing 13th out of the hundreds of teams competing. This year they placed sixth for hip-hop, with three performances: Game Day, Pom, and Hip-Hop.
Under the guidance of Jillian Jarsocrak, who has led the EHS Dance team for over 10 years, the team spent countless hours perfecting their routines, whilst becoming a close-knit family.
Spending the last three years of her high school career with the team, junior Tila Flok has seen nationals season come and go. It’s a high-pressure event where each participant wants to give it their all, but it can quickly turn stressful. The EHS dance team is always trying to find ways to avoid stress before Nationals. Flok went on to describe the way the team eliminates their pre-routine anxiety.
“We all hype each other up. We have a playlist where we put all of our car hype music and things that get us super happy and we play it right before we get on stage and then do a team huddle and assure everyone we got this,” Flok said.
The dance team’s journey to nationals began with their participation at the NDA Camp on July 23. Their hard work paid off as they gained a spot at nationals following the camp.
Practices for the dance team are not to be taken lightly as well, especially not near nationals, as they practice anywhere around 4-16 hours a week.
“Sometimes our coach will have us run after we do our dance full out, and then we have to keep running to keep our endurance up,” Flok said.
Senior Sadie Sesok is a talented EHS dancer who explains the importance of nationals to the girls.
“Competing at Nationals as a senior for one last time was a very bittersweet thing for me,” Sesok said. “I was very sad that it was coming to an end, and I will leave a very important group of people. But at the same time, I am happy it ended on a good note and I am excited to move on and hopefully dance in college.”
Sesok also went on to describe her favorite routine from this year’s national’s season.
“My favorite routine from this season was our hip hop routine,” Sesok said. “The song was a remix of ‘Lady Marmalade,’ the dance was a very sassy piece with upbeat and groovy choreography. For me, this dance was so fun to perform on stage, I am so glad that this was my last performance on the NDA stage.”
Senior Rosie Singley described her favorite memory at Nationals this year.
“I’d say the most memorable moment at nationals this year was making finals for hip hop and earning sixth place which is the second highest ranking in EHS [history].”
