Lancer Dancers Place At Lee Summit Invitational

Last Saturday, Jan. 25, the East varsity and JV Lancer Dancers took part in the Lee Summit North Invitational dance competition.

The varsity dancers placed first in the hip hop category. They beat out Blue Valley Northwest, who placed second, and Olathe Northwest, who came in fifth, for the title.

“I love our hip hop dance this year because it’s so different and fun,” junior and varsity dancer Gracie Guigon said.

They also were given a choreography award for their hip hop routine, which the dancers will perform at the Rockhurst game on Friday night.

“I remember my freshman year watching varsity perform their dance at Rockhurst and the crowd went absolutely nuts,” junior and varsity Lancer Dancer Emma Matthews said. “I hope that’s what happens this year. I’m nervous but also so excited.”

The varsity dancers also competed with two different dances in the jazz category, and won fourth place with their lyrical routine, which combined jazz with elements of ballet.

“It was interesting because we’d never been to this competition before,” junior and varsity dancer Audrey Phillips said. “It’s a different style since in Kansas competitions official places like first, second, third, aren’t announced.”

JV placed first for their contemporary routine, as well as a choreography award for the same dance. They then went on to place second in both the hip hop and jazz categories.

“I think what was most fun about it was it was our first opportunity for JV to actually place and see how we compare to other teams,” JV captain and junior Kathryn Peterson said. “All the girls love our contemporary dance and worked so hard on it, and we were really pleased when we found out we took first in that category.”

The varsity team competes in Nationals on March 8 and will do so with their jazz lyrical and hip hop routine.