State Dance and the Dance Clinic

Today, I am at the 2011 Nebraska State Cheer & Dance Championship with my Ralston Varsity Dance Team. They have worked very hard this whole school year to perform at this competition and I think I am as nervous (probably more) as they are! State Dance/Cheer has come a long way since I was a cheerleader in high school. In 2000, I traveled with my cheer squad to Lincoln, NE where we performed at Lincoln Lutheran High school against maybe 10 other Class A squads.

Now, the competition has grown and has relocated to the Grand Island Event Center. There are 2 days of competition, 3 different floors running at the same time and over 114 teams competing. Its definitely more intense than it was 11 years ago.

A few weeks ago, the girls got the chance to enjoy a simpler dance experience, with the Ralston Dance Clinic. They were able to teach dances to girls ages 4-11. It was a long day, as I was recovering from being sick, but the smiles on the little girls faces were priceless. They were loving every moment! And they performed that evening at the half time of the basketball game among ooos and aaahs from the crowd.

Sometimes taking the most stressful situations and looking at them through a different light can help the most!

My dancers with the older girls

Rockin' Robin!

The future of the Ralston Dance Team! :)