Three high schools have brought home hardware from the Oklahoma State Dance Team Directors Association (OSDTDA) state championships on Dec. 12 to 14 in Tulsa.
Stroud won the state championship in 1A-2A prop and were runners-up in pom and hip-hop, while North Rock Creek won its first-ever state championship in 4A mix. Chandler High School won state in 3A hip-hop and jazz, yet another repeat.
The Stroud pom team won with a moving piece set to Hozier’s “Work Song” that told the story of love that’s stronger than death and loving through hard things. Prop is an interesting category that is essentially jazz that tells a story through the use of a prop.
“We had this big sheer piece of fabric that kind of represented that barrier between, and so the girls were dancing in and out of it to represent passing through the veil,” said Coach Megan Simpson, adding that she had been saving it until she had a team that could handle a more difficult story that required both dance technique and acting chops.
“They gave me chills. They made me cry at state,” she said.
The win wasn’t without its difficulties. Simpson said the team faced injuries and illness in the run-up to the competition, and she had alternates in all three performances. But she couldn’t have asked for harderworking dancers this season. “Something clicked, and it worked out, and they got it,” she added. “And their performances on Saturday were some of the best times they had done their dances.”
This is Marysa Rake’s first year coaching pom at North Rock Creek, and she said this was the first time the team has been to OSDTDA state in a while, but the team absolutely loved competing.
“The girls just had so much energy and so much excitement. Righht before, in the practice room, I could tell that their energy was just super high and that they were so excited to get to go perform,” she said. “They really wanted to go and leave it all out there on the floor.”
She said they decided on mix -- which allows teams to choose three of four dance styles to include in one, longer piece -- because while the team is strong in pom, they also really love getting to do hip-hop and jazz.
“Mix was kind of the perfect category for them because it kind of lets them do all the different styles that they love and that they can excel at. And so that was obviously a great choice for us,” she said.
The team was able to start off with pom -- a strength -- and end with hip-hop, which they love.
“I felt like that really helped them be able to finish strong as well because they were able to like end in a section that they thought was just really, really fun and they love getting to perform it as well,” she said.
NRC isn’t done with its competition season. They have another in January, and Rake said the team is excited to continue working on their routines. They also placed fourth in Game Day, which has more pom elements.
“I kept telling the girls after they did the routines, I’m so happy that we’re doing another competition that’s more local. It’s still going to have teams throughout the state, but that way, we’re not having to say goodbye to these dances,” she said.