Updated on March 3 to include information about the 8CA All-State Dance Team

The dance team finished its historic competition season at the Illinois Drill Team Association State Championship on Feb. 13 and 14 in Springfield, Illinois, placing third in the pompom and fifth hip-hop categories. This marks the first time in U-High’s history that the dance team has gone to State. Seniors Capri Cooper and Ceci Siegel were also selected to be a part of 8CA All-State Dance Team. 

Capri said that while there were many stressful moments this season, she is very proud of the team and what they have accomplished. 

“We had a lot of late practices, you know, times when people were frustrated; it was a lot of work to put together, especially for the competition team with all the routines we had to do and get them ready in, like, a short time,” Capri, a senior, said. “But I think that it’s also a really great opportunity for the team to get close, and I feel like we all have pretty strong bonds now.”

Nichole Petersen, dance team coach, said the dance team going to state is one of her greatest moments of pride as a coach, emphasizing the difficulty of bringing together a team with many different levels of experience.

“I’ve been coaching since 1999, and this has been probably the biggest achievement as a coach, even though I’ve coached national dance champions,” Ms. Petersen said about coaching at Lab and elsewhere. “It’s completely different coming to a school where not all kids have the same background in dance, if any, and to help them achieve that level that they’ve gotten to.”