For the first time in school history, the Jenison Varsity Dance Team is heading to nationals.
The annual competition, which takes place this February, is held in Orlando, Florida. The distance makes travel more expensive than regular meets, but thanks to a special promotion, the Jenison team could receive extra financial support to achieve their goal.
Coach Maddy Ippel said they were just named finalists in the Dance Team Union Flight Contest, an Instagram competition that provides the winning team up to $3,000 to fund their nationals travel.
She said they will submit an Instagram reel, showcasing how the team supports each other over the summer, then wait to learn the grand prize winner later this month.
In the meantime, Ippel said she couldn’t think of a better group to represent Jenison on such a big stage. The connection among the teammates is strong. Meaningful. Deep.
“I guess the Jenison secret would be that they are family. They are texting each other in our group chat all day, all night,” she said. “I think they are well-deserving of this. I am really excited to see how they do. And I am excited to see how they come together in unity this season.”
Dancer Maddy Bier said everyone on the team genuinely wants to be there.
“No. 1 for this team is the team, not just a single person… it’s just a very supportive community,” she said. “They want to be better at their craft and they want the team to succeed.”
While some teams may slow down in the summer, the Jenison Varsity Dance Team picks up the pace to prepare for their upcoming season.
“During the summer we do a lot of workouts and hold each other accountable to those,” Dancer Shaylie Ohlman said. “We’ll go to the gym together and help each other get in shape for the season.”
Dancer Shayley Dean said they have all summer to bond so going into the school year and into competition season, they are ready to go. Dance is an important part of her life and the team relationships make it even better.
“I have created lifelong friendships from the dance team,” Dean said. “It’s nice to know I have people here that I can go to for something. Support outside of dance, maybe emotional support. Just somebody to hang out with. I always have somebody there because of this team. It really helps me as a person and helps our team.”