Montezuma Dance Team earns third, other honors at state dance

​Pictured are, from left, front row: Kierstyn Price, Laila Kercheval, Abby Cheney, Carmen Klos, Camryn Brennan, Coral Lowry, Izzy Roorda, Kaleah Shoemaker, Lily Shoemaker. Back row: Kassidy Mathes, Mia Boulton, Katie Reynolds, Elise Boulton, Allyson Larmore, Haley Vanderhart, Miah Foubert.

   The Montezuma Dance Team had another great trip to Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines for the Iowa State Dance Competition on Nov. 17.
    This year’s season was cut short due to COVID-19, but according to Montezuma Dance Coach Macy Taylor, the dancers knocked it out of the park.
    This year, Montezuma took three solo performances, Kaleah Shoemaker, Lily Shoemaker, and Coral Lowry to the competition. The team took a pom routine, as well as a hip hop routine.
     “Similar to last year, we were in Class I Hip Hop and Class II Pom,” noted Taylor. “These classes are divided on team size as well as school size. We took 16 girls to the State Dance Championship.”
    “Our season was definitely an overwhelming experience, but these ladies gave it their all and pulled out two amazing performances,” Taylor added.
    The ISDTA (Iowa State Dance Team Association) held a virtual awards ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 5 and Taylor said she and the team watched it live on a projector, “socially distanced of course.”
     Two Montezuma soloists, Lily Shoemaker (Freshmen) and Coral Lowry (Freshmen), each earned Division 1 rating.
     “This means they scored at least 75 points out of 100 points,” said Taylor. 
    Both Hip Hop and Pom earned a Division I rating in their categories. Pom earned an eighth place in the Class II category and Hip Hop earned third place honors in the Class I category.
     “Between the top three placings in hip hop, Montezuma was one point from first place,” said Taylor. “That's how close the competition was. These girls worked so hard and I'm incredibly proud of them. We are looking forward for a few months off to turn around and prep for next season.”