Apr. 21—"I kept saying there was something special about this team," Southwestern Community College dance team coach Paige Russo said. "They just had the drive, they had the want and they really saw that final destination and that final mission."
After a season full of perfecting choreography, performing in front of crowds and bonding as a team, the dance season culminates in the College Classic National Championship.
"We talked all season about really just locking in and putting your best foot out there," Russo explained. "We can't change what the judges think and what the judges say today."
The team qualified for nationals in jazz, hip hop and pom after top-three performances at the Iowa State Dance Team Association State Championships in December. They also competed at nationals in team performance.
The national competition, held in Orlando, Florida, April 10-12, resulted in four trophies for the Spartans dance team, the best of which being a runner-up performance in team performance, behind first by just 0.66 points.
"We knew from day one it was going to be tight and it was going to be a fight," Russo said. "Unfortunately we just came up a little short, but the other ones, we were very, very happy with our placements in pom and jazz and hip hop."
In pom and jazz, the Spartans took the bronze. In hip hop, they finished fourth. For each style, the teams start with a preliminary performance.
"After prelims, we listened to the judges' feedback and took it and made the adjustments that needed to be made for the finals floor," Russo said. "And ultimately, unfortunately, in the team performance category, we came up short."
Team performance mixes the styles of jazz, hip hop and pom into one routine. The Spartans' dance was called "Cowboy Carter," featuring a variety of songs off of Beyonce's Cowboy Carter album.
The hip hop performance, "Cars" scored 83.62 points. Iowa Western Community College took the Junior College hip hop title with an 87.3.
In jazz, the Spartans' routine, "Hit the Road Jack," scored 84.32. Trinity Valley Community College out of Texas won with 91.32.
The pom routine, "Fire Hot Emergency" accumulated a score of 87.4. Trinity Valley also took the win in this category, posting a score of 91.22.
"We talked a lot at nationals about when we step off the floor, we want to look and say that was the best performance that we could have given," Russo said. "No holding back, no regrets on the performances that we gave. We were very, very happy with the performances that we gave, both prelims and finals."
Their accomplishments this year are the best in program history. It's the first time the team has taken three trophies at state — one in pom, jazz and hip hop, and they were runner-up in pom at state and regionals.
While choreography, costuming and music can all play a role in how well a routine does, Russo credits the girls and their drive for the success of the season.
"I truly just think this team had the drive and they showed up to practice every day, ready to work, ready to put in the time, put in the energy, put aside injuries, put aside them hurting and really just dive deep into not only the style, but dive into our program and to the drive and the want," she said. "And yes, the choreography comes with it and the skills and the abilities come with it, but really what allowed us to succeed all season long was just the dedication and the drive of the girls."
The team is comprised of 13 dancers, most of them from Iowa. Two of the dancers are from Union County — Gracelyn Spencer of Creston and Molly Gennaro of Afton. Though the two are just freshman, they have enough credits to earn their associate's this year.
"I always say if I get a dancer for two years, I'm lucky," Russo said. "Both of them are graduating, but was super grateful for the year that I had with both of them for being the local girls."
Both Spencer and Gennaro were on the hip hop team and Gennaro was also in the pop routine.
"Molly definitely grew from day one to the final day of the season and was never really afraid to try something new and step out of her comfort zone," Russo said. "Gracelyn was battling an injury, but she didn't let it her hold her back. She was willing to fight through and truly continued to fight clear through the finals floor. She's been on our hip hop floor from day one and really is just an incredible performer."