Top Awards for Pleasant Grove Spartans Starz!

Congratulations to the Pleasant Grove Spartan Starz!  The varsity and junior varsity teams took top honors in recent competitions. The varsity team shined and received the 1st place trophy for their Pom routine and 2nd place for their Hip-Hop routine.  The JV also sparkled and were awarded 1st place in their Pom and Hip-Hop routines during the Universal Dance Association Alabama Dance Championship (UDA).  Both teams received 1st and 2nd place trophies again as they competed in the American All-Star Southern Regional Dance Championship.
The girls work all year to perfect their dance skills and raise money for competition fees, dance camp, choreography fees and uniforms. “There is no ‘I’ in team is a common quote for many sports. After any victory at a dance competition, this quote is more relevant than ever, because every single dancer contributes to the group’s win in some way or another. Hard work and trust are vital. You have to give 100 percent at practice and the performance and know that your teammates will do the same. The girls have worked very hard this year and I am so proud of their accomplishments” said Brooke Self, varsity coach.  “Our team has received not just local but national awards throughout its history and that takes hard work. We workout during the summer, during school dance class and after school, too.  We practice just as hard as the football and basketball teams too and our girls are in great shape!  They are competitors and know hard work pays off; not just on the dance floor but more importantly, these girls work very diligently in their classes. With the time that dances require, they have to be focused and make sure that they stay on track with their school work.”
The POM routine is done with pom-poms and includes skills like tumbling, leaps, turns, splits and jumps. The Hip-Hop routine is an energetic, free-style type dance that evolved from break-dancing and allows improvisation and personal creativity.
“Dance requires dedication just like any other sport and I’m praying that it leads to a dance scholarship that will help with my college expenses,” said Raven Parker, captain of the varsity team. “We take on a lot of responsibility as dance team members. First we represent our school, our parents and our community and secondly, we are mentors to the middle school girls. I love dance and I’ve gained friends for life with my dance sisters!” continued Ms Parker.
Dance is a highly competitive sport. The UDA hosts their championship competitions each year in Orlando, Florida at the Walt Disney World Resort where 300 college, high school and all-star teams compete.   The teams are judged on their performance, team cohesion, choreography, execution, showmanship and other attributes. Not only are the teams judged but oftentimes, the competitions award a prize for the team with the most crowd appeal. The parents from Pleasant Grove have played a big part in the team being the recipient of this title in the past.