Patriot Dance Team Earns 5th at State Dance
Heartland Event Center in Grand Island was full of pom-poms, glitter, sparkles, cheer and dance on February 15 and 16.
This was the venue for the annual Nebraska State Cheer and Dance Championships. The Patriot Dance team brought the 6 elite team dancers to compete in the competition. They were sophomores Bethany Rupprecht and Bridget Rupprecht; juniors, Taya Gross, Quintessence Indra, and Brittney Urbanek; and senior Abby Langdon.
At state dance, the team did their hip hop dance, also known as their “scary” dance. The girls earned 5th place out of 8 team. The girls were only 3 points away from first.
Junior Taya Gross said, “It was a great experience and a fun time for the whole team. I was disappointed in the scoring. We received fifth out of the eight C2 teams. Despite being placed fifth, the scoring was very close! We were only three points away from the first-place team.”
Dance coach Rachel Rupprecht said, “The elite team worked very hard on their hip hop dance for State Dance this year. They gave it their everything and laid it all out there on the gym floor. I was very proud of them, and many spectators commented on how they enjoyed Clarkson-Leigh’s appearance and originality of their routine compared to other dance teams.”