By Sarah Schulz
sarah.schulz@theindependent.com

Print Story | e-mail Story | Visit Forums

Featured Advertiser

Independent/Scott Kingsley Islandaire Lynndsi Strong performs during the Nebraska State Cheer and Dance Championships at the Heartland Events Center Saturday afternoon. Judge Liz Morrow said she watches for pointed toes, neat lines, tight formations and facial expressions, among other things. Independent/Scott Kingsley The Northwest Dance Team performs during the Nebraska State Cheer and Dance Championships at the Heartland Events Center Saturday afternoon. Click Thumbnails to View

Nebraska State High School Cheer and Dance Championships judge Liz Morrow watches for pointed toes, neat lines, tight formations, facial expressions and straight arms and legs.

"I look at the energy, synchronization and technique," she said.

Morrow, who judges the dance division, had plenty to watch at Saturday's first-ever championships at the Heartland Events Center.

More than 1,200 students were expected to compete and perform in the event, including a number from Grand Island and the surrounding area.

Seniors Jessica Palu and Shawni Leffler, both captains of Northwest High School's dance team, know what the judges want.

"They look at technique and performance," Palu said.

The judges also watch for difficulty. The more jumps and turns in a routine, the more points the team can earn, Leffler said.

Their routine was choreographed by their coach, Tim Smith, who said it all comes down to basic technique and unified movement. The dancers have to make an impression on the judges by making the same movements, showing energy and maintaining the proper spacing to give the desired effect, he said.

The Northwest team members had been practicing the six routines they've done throughout the school year since their July summer camp. They chose to perform the one they believed showed their strengths in jazz and pop, he said.

Leffler said the championships were exciting.

"It's like a movie," she said.

Palu agreed and added that it was a great opportunity to watch the other dance and cheerleading teams.

Cassie Knopik, a junior, and Mallory Hellbusch, a senior, both participated in the competition with the Grand Island Senior High School dance team.

They began practicing their moves after returning from a national competition in Florida in January.

The girls said they worked on hitting all their moves and keeping the energy level high. They said formation changes moving from one dance sequence to another and executing moves in staggered levels can also earn extra points from the judges.

The cheerleading judges look for many of the same things the dance judges do. However, they also award points for cheers.

GISH cheerleading captains Whitney Bennett and Brittney Eilts, both seniors, and Sierra Arends and Kara Brostrom, both juniors, said the audience is most likely watching for the same things the judges are togetherness, sharp moves and big smiles.

Brostrom said points are given for basic cheers, jumps and kicks. The girls added hip-hop moves between those elements "for fun," she said. She added that a series of three jumps the team does in its routine is a challenging aspect the judges should appreciate.

"They're continuous (jumps)," she said. "That makes them harder."

Many of the cheerleading teams had signs and megaphones, which aren't required but do add interest to a cheer, Arends said.

The championship competition featured cheer divisions of tumbling, nontumbling and sideline cheer, which is done without music, and dance divisions of pom, jazz, hip-hop and high kick for Classes A, B, C and D.

In addition to GISH and Northwest, teams from Kearney, Hastings, Adams Central, Ravenna, Doniphan-Trumbull, Hampton, Centura, Ord and Kenesaw were scheduled to participate in the daylong competition.