Daviess County High School dance has taken a big step forward in the program, gaining plenty of confidence for nationals by being a state-runner up in the hip-hop division and third place in the gameday division.
The Lady Panthers were seven points behind Dupont Manual for first place in the hip-hop division and was just a little over a point behind a first place finish in the gameday division. While Head Coach Kendal Connor could tell they were a bit nervous before performing, she was glad to see them lock in just prior to getting started and watch some great performances while noting what they have to work on going forward.
“We changed a lot of parts in our dance that week so they didn’t have a lot of time to go over them,” Connor said. “They went out there, remembered them all and killed it. Hip hop was next and their attitudes and energy was totally different then it was in gameday. They were confident and excited. They did really well, but we had several falls/mistakes that usually never happen so we felt a little discouraged [about that].”
Connor and company felt like they met their expectations they had going into the tough competition, placing in the top-four with no size divisions. The state runner-up finish in the hip-hop division is big for the program, as they hadn’t done so since 2017.
“Being state runner up feels amazing,” Connor said. “It honestly feels like we won. KHSAA state is a huge competition with a lot of really amazing teams. Dance doesn’t have size divisions so that means we compete against everyone. A lot of teams had more than 25 girls on their team which is hard to compete against when you don’t have that same amount of dancers.”
Adding onto their recent success of winning state in the gameday division in 2021 and in 2018 in the hip-hop division, Connor is thrilled with how far they’ve come this season. She said that the talent that came up from College View Middle School alongside the strong leadership from Daviess County’s upperclassmen has helped the team be as successful as possible.
“This team has battled hard to be where we are,” Connor said. “They are strong, motivated and dedicated to working through sickness, injuries and lots of long practices. They head to Nationals in Orlando in March and will continue work, condition and train to be the best they can. We are very proud of these girls.”
Now the Lady Panthers are looking ahead to nationals, making the trip to Orlando to compete from March 3-5. Connor said that their performance at state should show Daviess County that hard work does pay off and if they continue putting that same effort into practice for the next few months, they can make some noise at nationals.
“I think we have come a long way from the beginning of the year and now that we know our potential from region and state competitions, I’m really excited going into nationals to see what we can do,” Connor said. “My team is a very close and bonded team, their strive and determination to want to be the best is admirable. The work is worth it and I can’t wait to see how we do in March at NDA Nationals in Orlando.”
