On Dec. 18, 14 dancers from Pearl River Central High School’ dance team, The Blue Angels, competed in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Dance Team State Championship and won first place in the pom and jazz categories.
The team participates every year, dance team coach Sadie Penton said. Of the four categories, the team can only enter two.
Pom, Penton said, is a combination of technical dance skills and intricate pom movements, full of athleticism and high energy.
Jazz is more focused on technique, dance skills and the emotional interpretation of the music, she said.
The dancers audition for the competition team, Penton said. Besides practicing every day, dance team members also perform at numerous school-sponsored activities such as football and basketball games and pep rallies, she said.
“They practice about three hours a day,” Penton said. “We go year round.”
This year’s competition team participants included Byrnn Al-Jabi, Kylie Ballard, Faith Baucum, MaKenzie Bean, Jessie Besanson, Lynsey Lauzon, Jade Long, Madison Songy, Cameron Steelman, Skylar Stockstill, Kagan Stockstill, Ryan Waguespack, Jessica Mixon and Arlee Smith.
In the jazz category, The Blue Angels beat the dance team that won the previous six years. That team placed second this year, Penton said.
“We did qualify for nationals for the first time and went to Disney World on Jan. 30,” she said. “We performed at the ESPN Wide World of Sports facility. We did very well for our first time, especially since we didn’t know what to expect. In both of our dances, we scored less than one point away from advancing. Next year, we will know what to expect. I’m very proud of our performances and I appreciate all the hard work and dedication of everyone involved and am excited about continuing a tradition of winning and taking them to the nationals.”