Highsteppers Celebrate Sensational Season
The Huntington High School Highsteppers competitive dance team is still on a high, celebrating a sensational season that culminated last week with a fabulous showing in the National Dance Alliance championships in Orlando.
The Highsteppers went right to work after touching down in Florida on Friday. “We spent the whole day practicing for the evening’s competition,” said Huntington teacher Paige Tyree, who coaches the dance team along with Jessica Harris.
First up for the squad was the jazz/dance category. “We scored an 84.3, which landed us among the top 20 teams and moved us onto the finals round on Saturday night,” Ms. Tyree said. The kick competition followed and Huntington performed well, finishing in 13th place.
Saturday morning featured the pom competition and Huntington responded with a score of 75.57. The evening saw the top teams in the country vying in the dance finals and the Highsteppers really shined.
“Our girls were simply incredible,” Ms. Tyree said. “They danced with such passion and poise that I actually starting tearing up at the end. The entire theater was so moved by their performance. They ended up placing 16th overall in the nation and Jessica and I couldn’t be prouder of the girls.”
Highsteppers making the trek to Orlando included senior captains Holly LoTurco and Anna Brosoff, junior captain Magenta Lopez, Emily Williams, Melany Lanham-Ciancia, Christi Reinertsen, Kelsey Miller, Charlotte Brosoff, Jamie Spector, Casey Moskowitz, Bethany Danziger, Sofia Ornato, Sophia LaCentra, Casey Smith, Brooke Cafiero and Kaitlyn Smith. Junior Allyson Arleo went along as the squad’s manager.
“This year’s national’s trip was extremely bittersweet for me,” Ms. LoTurco said. “I am so sad that it was my last one, but I could not have asked for a better way to end my highstepping career. Making it to the finals and becoming nationally ranked simply validated the amount of effort we have put in this entire season. While nationals is definitely an amazing opportunity in terms of competing, the best part about it, in my opinion, is the extent to which our team grows closer, which is a bond that I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
The Highsteppers participated in several fundraising initiatives that helped underwrite some of the costs associated with the trip. Over the past six months, the team entered various local competitions and performed during halftime of football and basketball games and during last fall’s pep rally.
“Nationals is the biggest event of the year for the Highsteppers,” Ms. Brosoff said. “We work and practice for months to perfect our routines and then compete against other teams from all over the United States and Japan. It brings the team so close together whenever we go and I’m so happy that we are able to do it. I couldn’t be any happier about what we have accomplished and how much I love all the people on the Highstepping team.”
The Highsteppers are a Huntington crowd favorite and never fail to lift the spirits of whoever happens to be in the bleachers. “Even though this has been a rough year, the team has never given up,” Ms. Harris said. “They worked so hard to get to nationals and the worked paid off. I am so happy to be a part of this team and so proud of how far the team has come. The work was worth it.”
Seniors on the trip are sorry to see the season ending as it signifies the conclusion of their time with the Highsteppers. “As this trip was my last, it was bittersweet,” Ms. Williams said. “We had so much fun competing and enjoyed every minute of it. This was one of my favorite years on the team and I wish it could last forever. We were a close knit team and everyone was always willing to lend a hand. I am so proud of our team and how well we did in the competition and I know that it will only get better for my returning teammates. I look forward to coming home to see next year’s performances and I know that they will be nothing but spectacular.”