Kicking it up a notch
Texas Highsteppers compete at Danceline competition
Photo by submitted photo
Senior Lydia Horton, surrounded by other officers, dances to “To build a home.” The Texas Highstepper officers performed their officer Modern dance at the Danceline USA North Texas Regional Competition in Celina, TX.
February 16, 2023
On Saturday Feb. 4, 2023, the Texas HighSteppers competed at the Danceline USA North Texas Regional Competition in Celina, TX.
The HighSteppers competed four team dances in the Large Team division. They competed their military, novelty, kick and pom routines.
For the team awards, they received Super Sweepstakes which is awarded to teams who received an overall average of 95 or higher on at least three dances in separate categories.
They also received the Best in Category for the Kick, Novelty and Military dances, a Precision Award from the judges for their Pom routine, Grand Champion Large Team and third place Ring of Champions, which is awarded to the top three teams with the highest averages.
The HighStepper officers also competed their three officer dances at the Celina contest. They took their officer lyrical, modern and jazz.
The officers received a sweepstakes award, meaning they received three or more division I ratings in three separate categories, a Best in Category for Modern, a Danceline Gold Award for Modern and Jazz, given to the top three scores of the day for a single routine, Grand Champion Large Officer group and the 1st place Ring of Champion Award out of all of the officer groups that competed throughout the day.
The HighSteppers spent many weeks preparing for their contest season. Amber Reynolds, the HighStepper director, felt very confident in her team and their performance at the Celina competition.
“Oh absolutely [I think we were prepared],” Reynolds said. “It’s always good to have two competitions because you really get an opinion on what the judges are looking for and what they enjoy and what they don’t enjoy.”
For a few members of the team, this competition was a new experience or one of their last times on the floor with the team. Senior Lauren Roberson spent her time at the contest savoring the moment.
“I think we did great,” Roberson said. “Of course there are things we could have done better, but the fact that it was one of my last contests made me cherish the stressful moments more.”
For sophomore Julianna Horton the contest at Celina was a brand new experience.
“I think the contest went really well,” Horton said. “I felt confident in all my dances, and after watching the videos, I definitely think there are some things I need to work on. Overall, I did good.”
