On Thursday, Jan. 30, varsity escadrille will take off for Orlando, Fl. to compete in the 2014 Universal Dance Association (UDA) National Dance Team Championship.

The team received a bid to perform after winning the jazz category in one of their local competitions during the season, which began in August.  This is the first year Lafayette has sent a team to perform at the highest level of national competition.

The Championship is held at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Approximately 330 teams were invited to perform from across the country and Lafayette will compete against 74 other teams in the Jazz preliminary competitions.  The highest scoring teams from the prelims then compete in semi-finals and ultimately finals competition.

Jazz is one of four categories in which high school teams participate in from across the country.  The others are Hip Hop, Pom and High Kick. Eureka’s Golden Line was the only other Rockwood team invited and will compete in Pom and High Kick.

All 12 girls on the varsity team will be going, along with Stefanie Hruby, mathematics teacher and Head Coach, the team choreographer and other staff, including the junior varsity coach.

Senior and team captain Courtney Poppell said that the team has been rehearsing every day after school, as well as occasionally at night.

“We performed the dance at a basketball game, and we’re working really hard to perfect it,” Poppell said.

Aside from the competition, all the dance teams will have time to enjoy the local parks and amusements.  Poppell said that after the performances on Monday, March 3, Universal Studios Orlando will be shut down to the general public and opened only for the competing teams.

Poppell has high hopes entering the weekend.

“I’m really nervous because there are so many teams, but I’m pretty confident we will at least make it into the semi-finals,” Poppell said.

All information about the competition is courtesy of www.uda.varsity.com/nationals.