Tony Showers

On Nov. 30, Platinum Dance Team competed at the Iowa State Dance Team Championship, the largest dance team championship in the nation, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The dancers have been working to perfect their to routines since they learned the choreography in June.

Platinum learned their pom and jazz routine in June, choreographed by St. Ambrose Dance Team Coach, Danelle Langeneckert. Since then, the team worked incredibly hard to clean their dances to prepare them for the state floor, inspired by their 2018 motto: “Whatever it Takes”.

The dancers spent countless hours both in and outside of practice on their routines. Platinum practices every Monday and Wednesday from 3:45-5:00 for the majority of the season. Every early out leading up to state, Platinum holds extensive practices to work on the routines and possibly get a work out in.

This year, Platinum had the opportunity to work with personal trainer, Robert Langeneckert. Langeneckert specializes in training for dance and cheer teams. He assisted the dancers by providing personalized workouts that they could do at practice, or at home. These workouts were specific to building the exact strength and endurance the dancers needed to compete on the state floor.

The month leading up to state, Platinum practiced for long hours on Sunday afternoons into the evening on their routines. They also held an open dress rehearsal for parents and peers to get a sneak peek of their state routines in mid-November.

There were many nerves leading up to the state competition, as a majority of the team was first-year varsity members and had never performed on the state floor. Freshman Ashlyn Schmidt felt a mix of emotions during her first state experience. She stated, “at first the state floor looked intimidating, but once I was out there with my team it was one of the greatest things I’d ever experienced.”

Last friday, Platinum took the state floor at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The dancers performed bright and early in morning leaving them anxious for awards later that night. The dancers were relieved when they found out their hard work paid off, and earned them two second place trophies.

The Platinum dancers represented Pleasant Valley very well at the state competition this past weekend considering they won second place in class XIII Pom and class VI Jazz, two very tough categories. Senior captain, Amy Showers, shares her overwhelming emotions after completing her final state performance. She commented, “it was bittersweet coming off the state floor for the last time but I’m very grateful for the four years I got to dance at state.”