Dancers place sixth at world competition

Four West Shore students, eighth-grader Danielle G., sophomore Macie Goldfarb, junior Jessie Shaw and senior Jessica Peterson were part of a team that took home a sixth place title from the USASF world dance competition held in Bay Lake, Fla. last weekend.

“Worlds isn’t like anything you’ve ever seen,” Danielle G. said. “There’s so much going on all at once, like it can sometimes be really hard to focus. The nerves are real.”

Since the team had won the sixth-place title in 2016 as well, the girls were hoping to have moved up this year. Although that wasn’t the case, they were relieved that they maintained their placement, and were excited that their numerical score had increased from the years past.

“I think we had mixed feelings when they first called us for sixth place,” Peterson said. “Our biggest worry was that our placing would decrease from last year, which it didn’t. At the same time, to go up in ranking would be a big achievement as well. On Day 2 especially, we had a lot of support from other teams who came to watch us, so we already had a lot of crowd appeal. That kind of got our hopes up when awards came around.”

The dancers overall said they were pleased with how they performed and that they ended the season on a good note. Next year, they hope to win a globe, which is earned by being one of the top three placing teams in each division.

“Our coaches and team are still so proud of each other and of how we ended our last competition for the year,” Danielle G. said. “I mean, sixth in the world? You have to admit, that’s pretty dang good.”

By Macie Goldfarb

Editor’s Note: Brevard Public Schools policy prohibits the inclusion of middle-schooler’s last names on district-sponsored websites.