Miami Palmetto Senior High’s dance team, the Variations, took the stage at Pembroke Pines on Jan. 25, performing at the American Dance Alliance. Tickets for the event sold for $25 at the door.
Middle school students’ performances started at around 7 a.m., but high schoolers started around 9 a.m.. The entire competition ended at around 11:30 p.m., so the Variations had a long 14-and-a-half-hour day ahead of them. However, it paid off in the end.
The Variations won first place in their Junior Varsity large division categories: Hip Hop, Pom and Contemporary Lyrical. In the Jazz category, they won second. The judges were Michelle Machado, Paloma Alvarez, Ana Chacon, Jonni Lynn Rogers, Natalya Hall, Nicole Sullivan, Casey Rosenberg, Jamil Sayih and Kashara Garrett.
Senior and pep rally captain Cynthia Reyes was excited to see her team win, especially after having a few special parts in the performance as well.
“When we received our trophies, it felt extremely rewarding and like a huge weight was lifted. It was emotional knowing how dedicated and driven we’d been preparing for competition the last couple of months. It was settling knowing our work had paid off and we could finally celebrate, but also rest,” Reyes said.
She also performed a solo to the song, “You’ve Got The Love,” by Florence & The Machine.
“Experiencing my first and last solo was definitely bittersweet, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m thankful to my loving teammates who actually pushed me to complete my solo and get on stage to perform it. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but again, extremely rewarding in the end. I felt so accomplished and I know the girls feel the same,” Reyes said.
Many other members performed solos, specifically seniors, as it was their last year on the team and performed at a competition.
“Performing my senior solo was an unbelievable experience. I have grown up dancing at a studio watching groups of seniors perform their solos on stage for the last time, so for it to now be my turn is quite surreal. I love competing, and the feeling of being on stage, so competition days have always been quite fun for me. I can’t count how many competitions I’ve been to throughout my dance career, so it’s hard to believe that this past weekend was my final one; but I am so happy that I got to go out on a high note, with a team that I love very much, performing my senior solo and group dances for friends and family,” senior and Co-Captain Emma Costa said.
The variations competed against over 100 dance studio and school teams but held their own amongst other great performer groups, like Pinecrest Glades Academy and the Riviera Rockettes.
“Leading up to our state competition, myself and my team put in lots of hard work and effort, sacrificing hours of our time for daily after school rehearsals in addition to team runs and conditioning. The pressure was definitely on to put our best foot forward,” Senior & Captain Arianna Brueggert said. “Last year was the Variations first time competing in about a decade, and we really had to put ourselves back on the map alongside other school dance teams. However, with our dedication and commitment, we brought home 4 Florida State Championship first place trophies. The feeling of coming out victorious and all our hard work paying off was priceless. I couldn’t be happier to have the title of captain to such an amazing team,” senior and Captain Arianna Brueggert said.