What a start for the Lakes varsity dance, winning first place at the Sycamore invite. After taking second in their previous invite, they worked harder for their first-place victory. This brings in Lakes dance their third first-place invite title back home where it belongs.

Junior dancer, Jordyn Yuknis said, “It was definitely bittersweet. We were definitely a little nervous with all the changes we made to the dance last minute but we all pulled through in the end and just gave it our all.”

The endless hours, days, weeks, and months being put into these competitions was a mental battle. “Leading up to our next competition we were adjusting our dance to adhere to the feedback we got from the judges with one of the bigger focuses being expression.”

Senior Lily Paul, taking on a strong leadership role this year, has a lot to prove going into the winter season. “Yes I have, me and my fellow seniors, Amy Redfern and Lauren Richards, have made a point to collaborate with one another and with the team as well.”

After taking second place at the very first meet, Yuknis and Paul worked together to help their team move into their next two weeks of practice. “We practiced every day, taking in what the judges told us to improve on, worked on those things, and came into the Sycamore invite confident.”

Since the sycamore invite, Paul and the rest of the team lost Yuknis due to a hip injury. “Leading up to the next competition we have been rechoregraphing and changing formations and adding new aspects to our dance” said Paul.

“Practicing without a key dancer is really hard” said Paul. “We have to change a lot. Losing Jordyn [Yuknis] hurt us, our dance was made around her and now we don’t have her. It is like learning a new dance but this is where me as a leader and a senior has to step up.” Lily Paul said.

“Taking in what the judges say is key in dance. Literally, we only work on the things the judges say and work on fixing those in practice” Yuknis said. “The only problems we had were our facial expressions really when we took second place” both Yuknis and Paul agreed on. “We kept our same routine until last minute and changed a lot of things after we saw how harsh the judges were judging but we still gave it our all and took first place.”

Lakes varsity dance has only brought in two varsity first place invite titles previously. After taking home their third they strive to bring home more this season. “I just want this season to be memorable, it is my last year and I want to win. I will do anything for this team” Lily Paul finished with.