While the student body was off enjoying the snow, the Sensations dance team was in Florida at the national dance competition with more than 80 other teams from around the country in their division alone.

“It’s tough to walk in and see all those teams wanting the same thing you want,” said junior Danielle Grieve.

The dance team ended up getting 15th, which according to Grieve is the best they have ever done. When the girls arrived, they spent a day at Disney World but soon after it was back to business. Saturday and Sunday were spent performing and watching others perform.

For their jazz and hip hop routines, the girls had to make it through preliminaries, semifinals and finals. Each round was judged by a different panel of judges who scored the team. That score determined if the girls moved on or not. The team’s hip-hop routine ended up going as far as finals.

Although the girls were in Florida, they did more work than play. They practiced outside the hotel on the tennis courts, and according to junior Hannah Greco the team really came together in the end.

“Throughout our season, we cleaned our routines up numerous times to make sure we were ready to compete,” said Greco. “As it came closer to nationals, we were struggling a bit with energy and motivation as a whole, but we pulled it together.”

With nationals completed, the team is turning its focus to the state competition which will be held at Francis Howell Central on Feb. 26.