After a long dance season full of competitions, practices, and hard work; the Wilsonville Pride Dance team was able to reach the final stage of their season: the OSAA state championships.

Preparation for the state competition has been in full gear ever since August, before school had even started. The girls were able to put their blood, sweat, and tears into their sport all the way until the end. Over the course of their season they worked at practices, performed at multiple sporting events, competed at competitions, and continued working hard and perfecting their art while leaving it all on the stage. 

Once they reached the state competition, they were met with amazing dancers and teams, while competing with the best of the best. The 2023 championship was more of a hectic year than others because the DDCA’s contract with the Moda Center ended, so the OSAA Dance State Championships was in a new venue for the first time in a long time. Senior captain Lacie Wheeler spoke on the topic of the new location, “While the venue was a little cramped, the camaraderie was the most amazing part of the competition.” 

Wheeler continues into further explanation of some of the “unspoken rules” of dance. She says that they always watch the other teams and cheer them on, which to the dancers makes a huge difference in such a competitive environment. This experience was more special than others, by being able to have a normal state competition, and resume traditions they haven’t been able to do since the pandemic.

The Wilsonville Pride dance team competed in multiple different categories which include the styles of Jazz, and Pom at State. The girls ended up placing in third with their Pom routine, which is a large accomplishment for our team. Lacie Wheeler says, “Our Pom routine wasn’t the style we expected to do the best in, so it was super cool to end my dance ‘career’ on such a high note.” Another senior, Veera Valtonen, also shared her experiences of placing, “This season felt super great, and when they announced that we placed third it was so awesome!”

As the dance team’s successful season has officially ended, and the team recaps on their memories; the seniors were excited to enjoy every moment of their last competition so that they could reflect on their season with no regrets. Congratulations to our Wilsonville Dance team on all of their hard work and dedication for this year’s season!