The Becker Dazzlers dance team competed in their last regular season invitational of the season at Blaine High School last Saturday. This was the final competition of the year for the JV teams while the varsity teams will compete in their section meet today (Saturday) at Rocori High School.

 

The team had a quick turn around from competition Thursday night to another one Saturday morning. Thursday’s conference meet at home was a long day, but also one filled with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. 

 

“The team had four really good performances in front of the enthusiastic home crowd  Thursday night,” said Coach Julie Baloun. “The challenge was to try to match that on Saturday morning.” 

 

Varsity jazz competed early in the competition and performed well. 

 

“The jazz routine this year is a quiet, emotional piece,” said Baloun.  “The team was very expressive during their performance and really brought that emotion to the floor.”  

 

Varsity kick had a good performance. Coaches commented that their kick height was more consistent at this competition than at some of the earlier ones. Their scores improved over last year at this same competition as well in  the areas of visual effectiveness and creativity and degree of accuracy. 

 

“Going into sections, we will be looking to clean up formations and sharpen transitions,” said Baloun. “We really want to dance clean, strong and confident.”

 

The JV jazz squad was challenged over the week to  fine tune and perfect details in their routine. They performed well and earned second place medals. Their performance was nearly comparable with the first place team (Blaine). 

 

Although Becker had more points, Fridley won by one overall ranking point. 

 

Becker’s JV kick team found themselves in harder competition as they competed with AAA schools (Becker is AA). The team was able to make a name for themselves by hanging in there with tough competition. 

 

The coaching tandem of Baloun and Fischer-Danzeisen said the JV teams had a great year as they continued to increase their scores from years past and compete with more challenging teams. They said it is the team’s willingness to go the extra mile that propels them forward. 

 

“They've really impressed me with the way they were able to push through and prove they are unstoppable,” said Baloun.

 

As the team prepares for sections,  they're looking to continue a consistent trend of increasing points and ranks in their new AA section. Varsity jazz will kick off sections for Becker with their whole team back. 

 

The Section 4AA meet is being held today (Saturday) at Rocori High School with tickets going on sale at 9 a.m. Doors open to the public at 11 a.m. with the competition beginning at noon.