The dance team qualifies for the National Championships with their consistently clean performances

“We did it,” senior Rheanna Ganapathy said in tears as she embraced her best friend and fellow co-captain senior Lyan Cogan. “We actually did it.”

On Feb. 9, the MVHS Marquesas Dance Team was awarded first place in all five of the divisions it competed in at the United Spirit Association Northern California State Championships. Twenty-two teams competed in the Kick, Small Lyrical, Medium Dance, Intermediate Dance and Character divisions, and the Marquesas’ sweep qualified them to compete in the championship division at Nationals this March for all five routines.

After a disappointing start a month earlier in their competition season, the Marquesas were in  shock during the Cal States awards ceremony. At their first competition two weeks before, the girls only placed in three out of their five routines. This competition, Forte, was against many of the same teams and according to Cogan is generally regarded as the easiest competition of the year.

The team’s disappointment from its weaker performance at Forte inspired motivation and a stronger work ethic for the next couple weeks.

“At practice we had shorter water breaks, shorter warm-ups, we focused mainly on perfecting our routines and pushing the team to be its best,” Ganapathy said.

Two weeks of intense practices later, the Marquesas came to Cal States with hopes as high as their kicks. But although the girls felt especially competitive, they still showed good sportsmanship and cheered on the other teams.

“The girls here are great,” USA staff member Breanna Van Gastel said. “I’ve noticed that especially in the dance world, everyone’s just trying to achieve the same goal. So there’s a good sense of camaraderie between the teams. There’s none of that catty fighting that you see in the movies.”

After a long day of competing, cheering and crying, the Marquesas began laying out their game-plan for Nationals. The USA National Championships will be held in Anaheim on Mar. 17 and Mar. 18, and according to Cogan, the Marquesas hope to advance to finals and add another first place trophy to their collection.

”We’re just so proud,” Cogan said. “We’re best friends and have wanted to be co-captains since freshman year. To see it all actually happening is great.”

Rachel Beyda, a former Marquesa member, assisted with additional reporting.