Seizing second place overall at Crowd Pleasers Regional this past Saturday, along with first place at Ascension Regional competition, Legacies won the title of Overall Grand Champion on Feb. 15. The competition took place at Westwood High School, where the officer team was also awarded first Place in Contemporary Dance and first Place in Lyrical dance.
“It was very exciting [to win],” sophomore Abbey Blair said, “It makes me more confident for the [other] competitions, and it makes me more excited to go, because I know that judges did see me dance, and they did like what they saw. It brings a lot of confidence to me, knowing that people enjoy watching what I do, and it makes hard work rewarding”
Blair placed first in 10th Grade solos at Ascension Regional, with a dance performance to Frank Sinatra’s “The World We Knew.” In addition to Blair, sophomore Avery Childs placed 4th in the same category.
“[Competition] is a lot more stressful whenever I know that I’m going to be doing my solo. I’m more nervous throughout the day, because I know that it’s different when you’re with all your friends on stage, and if you mess up, maybe the judges didn’t see it. But with a solo, they notice everything, and they’re critiquing me specifically.”
In the 11th Grade Solos category at Ascension Regional, Kirsten Copley placed seventh, Keira Kingsmore placed sixth, and Kara Yuan placed first.
“I thought [placing 6th] was super special,” Kingsmore said. “I didn’t expect it at all, because they only announced the top five at the competition. So I found out that I got sixth place the day after. As soon as I opened the document and it said “Sixth place” I called my mom.”
Kingsmore’s routine was very personal to her, as she choreographed it entirely by herself while her mom took care of putting together the wardrobe for the routine.
“ I really wanted [the routine] to be about how girls are so wholesome bringing other girls up,” Kingsmore said. “Something that I’ve tried to do my entire life is trying to be there for the young girls and all my programs. So, I wanted it to be a tribute to that, and I dedicated it to my hard work.”
At the Crowd Pleasers competition, Officers won first place while the Social Officer Division won second place with their number. The Social Officers number was characterized by a fun, novelty style.
“I definitely think that being in a leadership position ultimately means giving back to your team,” senior Social Officer Stella Gatke said. “It’s definitely difficult sometimes, but it’s overall being able to help emphasize that positive team culture and just help everyone stay on track to keep with that positive mindset and keep reaching towards our goals.”
The team continues to polish and perfect their numbers as they prepare for their upcoming competition, Ascension Nationals, on March 8 at Texas State University. This will be the team’s last competition of the season.
“[As a Senior], It’s definitely bittersweet,” Gatke said. “Every team is different, so having it be the last contest with this team is definitely special, but also a little sad, knowing that it will be [the] last one. There’s definitely the spring show to look forward to, but it’ll definitely be sad. I just have to take it all in with this team and know that I have more to look forward to.”
