The Lake Oswego Dance Team came home from the Fall Championship with first place in the pom category for the 13th year in a row. The competition contains all the best teams in Oregon, competing in categories such as jazz, contemporary, hip hop and pom. Laker dance competed in both pom and hip hop, taking first in pom and second in hip hop. 

Currently, Laker Dance is preparing for UDA Nationals, which takes place at Disney World in February. They plan to compete in the pom and game day categories. Last year the dance team took 10th place for game day, which includes  everything that a dance team would normally do at a game including a sideline performance, a one minute halftime routine, and a fight song. The Pom category consists of pom poms, in unison dancing and precision, emphasizing little details throughout the 2 minute dance.

Junior Summer James stated how excited she was to go, saying, “It will be really fun, plus we get to go to Florida.” James continued, “There’s a lot riding on it because last year the difference between 10th and 3rd place was half a point.” Since dance, specifically the pom category, rides so heavily on precision, the dancers feel a lot of pressure to perform perfectly. Despite this, Laker Dance handles their stress well, doing fun team building activities such as boxed lunches, holiday parties and white elephant. Junior Chloe Whittington said, “Most of the girls are friends outside of the team, which creates a really good environment.”