By Danielle Morin
The Science Hill Dance Team celebrated its most recent victory on Saturday, Nov. 5. The 17 dancers won first place in the Large Group Hip-Hop category at the TSSAA State Championship, which was held at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. Over 40 teams from across the state competed in the event.
Ellie Lyons, a senior at Science Hill, commented on the victory, “We have a really great team of girls this year. We worked really hard, and it paid off for us.” According to her, many of the dancers practice continuously, averaging 4 hours with Science Hill and another 5 hours outside on their own time.
The winning number was choreographed by Rachel Crabtree and Science Hill Dance Coach Van VanEaton. VanEaton is a seasoned dance coach of 30 years, leading the ETSU dance and cheer teams in addition to Science Hill’s team.
Lyons said VanEaton is a major part of their success as a dance team, but wins like this do not come easy. “He’s very hard on us,” said Lyons, “but it definitely pays off. He inspires us a lot to work hard and be good at what we do.”
Lyons said many of the dancers, herself included, plan to continue dancing into their college years. VanEaton and the dance team plan to keep up the hard work and are looking forward to many more wins in the future.
