The Silver Stars Dance Team competed at the Lindbergh Invitational on December 2, taking second in Gameday, third in Precision Jazz, and fourth in Pom.

This is the team’s first competition of the year. During the fall season, dance coach Erin Taylor said that the team mainly prepares for events like pep rallies and sports games, but begins to focus on competitions during the winter.

“We start working on our routines during the fall season, but we don’t spend as much time on them because we are prepping for fall performances. Once we have gotten through the fall season, we really switch into our competition mode and work on our routines a little bit more intently,” Taylor said.

Given that they haven’t performed all year, senior Molly Berra says that the team’s strong performances exceeded all expectations.

“It definitely went a lot better than we all expected. We had a really solid run for all three dances, and it’s a good thing to build upon for our next competition,”

One of the most difficult parts of a first performance is the anxiety, but senior Kenzie Bowen said that the team was able to overcome their nerves once they stepped on the mat.

“For the first performance, the team did very well. It can be very nerve racking at first, but once you get out there, the adrenaline really gets to you and helps you perform. I felt like our energy was high and it was a great starting point,” Bowen said.

The team has four varsity competitions this season, including Nationals from February 2-4 and State on February 24. Bowen said that the team has many strengths this season, including their intensity and entertainment value.

“We have a lot of high energy, and we’re working on our stamina right now and it’s definitely improving a lot. As a team, we have really good performance skills, so our facials are always great and I think we’re pretty entertaining to watch

Going forward, Taylor said the team is looking to improve and set their expectations higher with each competition.

“Our goals are to keep raising our goals. We had goals going into Lindbergh, which was to feel confident and perform to the best of our ability, and now we are resetting goals to go into our next competition and then reset goals again. We want to be continually aiming higher,” Taylor said.