The Pleasant Valley Platinum dance team competed in Des Moines last weekend and came back with the gold. The dancers are the class XIII Pom state champions and placed fourth in jazz.
Going into the competition, the Platinum girls weren’t focused on winning. Instead, they put their time and energy preparing their dances to make them the best they could be. If they could give their best performance on competition day, everything else would take care of itself. “I told the team that as long as we gave our best effort and left the floor with no regrets, it wouldn’t matter what place we got because we knew that we did our best,” captain Rebecca Abdullah said.
PV Platinum faced powerhouse teams such as Ankeny, a team with sharp performance technique and a history of showcasing their team technique. “We went into state knowing that we were competing against very tough competition,” senior Elle Fietsam said. However, Platinum didn’t let this mindset affect their performance.
After their Pom routine, the dancers felt content but were nervous awaiting awards which were to come later that night. “It got down to the top two and I knew it would be between us and Ankeny. I vividly remember when Ankeny was announced as 2nd place, Amy (Co-captain) and I both looked at each other and gripped each others’ hands tighter, but we didn’t say a word out of our anxiousness. When they called Pleasant Valley as Class XII Pom champions, my eyes filled with tears in remembrance of all the hard work the entire team put in to get to where we are. I had never cried at state before when we won, but this time was different because each team member really devoted time and effort to this team and it made the whole experience worth it. The last time we won in Pom was my freshman year, and we finally got our state title back,” Abdullah said. “Walking off stage and knowing we left it all on the floor was an amazing feeling. Then, later finding out we won first in Pom felt so rewarding. It was a fantastic last state championship for me and the other seniors, because we worked very hard and won what we deserved,” Fietsam said.
Leading up to the performance, Platinum met every Monday and Wednesday from 3:45-5:00. They also had three six-hour Sunday practices and several dress rehearsals to perfect their dances. Learning the state routine dates all the way back to last summer. The team learned their routines in June and spent months working on them. “I think the most important thing is that we all supported each other and talked a lot about the importance of attitude and work ethic going into this state season,” Fietsam said. The time this team put into their dances truly paid off, and they didn’t let the long practices affect their toughness.
The varsity team consists of only 12 girls, a small number compared to teams in the past. “We could not let the size of our team dictate our placement at state. There was no room for individual mistakes, and every member was held to high expectations,” Abdullah said. Throughout the season, guest dance instructors from local studios helped clean up their routine as well as some PV Platinum alumni.
Fietsam and Abdullah have been platinum members for all four years of high school. Fietsam has been a dancer since she was 2 years old. Abdullah has been dancing since she was 4 and competing since she was 8. The Platinum underclassmen will miss their leadership and experience moving on to next year, but the talent remaining is something to be excited about.
