Funding provided by Friends, the Iowa PBS Foundation, as well as generations of family and friends who feel passionate about the programs they watch on Iowa PBS.

Fareway Meat & Grocery is a proud sponsor of the 2021 Iowa State Dance Team Championships.

Fareway believes in supporting the places Iowans learn, work, live and play.

Congratulations to all the schools and student athletes in this year's championships.

By Musco Lighting, the sports lighting specialists, providing lighting systems for you, your project and your community.

♪♪ ♪♪ Andrea Dana: Welcome to the 2021 Iowa State Dance Team Championships.

I'm Andrea Dana, the Executive Director of the Iowa State Dance Team Association.

In the midst of the pandemic, ISDTA focused on creating a COVID precautions safety plan that would allow dance and color guard teams to compete either in-person or virtually in this year's championships.

Lois Turnage: I'm Lois Turnage, President of the ISDTA.

We are proud to announce that the number of teams and dancers participating in this year's event held strong, despite the challenges created by COVID.

We had an astonishing 200 teams compete in-person and another 70 teams compete virtually.

Scott Enyart: I'm Event Announcer Scott Enyart.

With nearly 5,000 of Iowa's top young dancers able to compete, we're proud to bring you highlights of all the winning routines and interviews with some of the coaches and dancers.

Here now is the 2021 Iowa State Dance Team Championships.

♪♪ Enyart: We start things off with Waterloo Columbus, the champions in Class VI Pom.

Eagle Grove came in second.

Beckman Catholic came in third.

Fourth place was South Hamilton.

And in fifth place was Emmetsburg.

♪♪ Turnage: Waterloo Columbus is getting us started in a great way.

Energy, excitement, visual interest with their formation changes.

Really fun.

♪♪ Dana: This year marks our 45th State Championships.

We had 3 days of competition showcasing 250 teams performing 500 routines.

It was an impressive display of our team's determination, perseverance and creativity this year.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: Nice showcasing in the front there with that headspring.

Tough skill, uses a lot of strength.

They did a great job.

Nice turn combination as well.

♪♪ Dana: They're very clean and sharp.

It's impressive.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: PCM earned the championship in Class VII Pom.

Okoboji placed second.

In third was Sheldon.

North Fayette Valley placed fourth.

And Spirit Lake came in fifth.

♪♪ Turnage: PCM is using the theme of Jungle Boogie with their costuming as well as their music.

Very, very fun.

Also, with our COVID restrictions this year was the distancing on the floor.

The teams were told they needed to keep their formations widely spaced.

These teams are doing such a creative job of providing visual interest as they move from one form to the next.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: They have some great energy throughout this entire routine.

Enyart: Really clean, sharp movements.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Great diagonal work.

♪♪ Turnage: Great job, PCM!

♪♪ ♪♪ Clear Lake soared to the top in Class VIII Pom with this high-powered routine.

Algona placed second.

Iowa Falls - Alden came in third.

We had a tie for fourth between Sioux Center and Monticello.

And in fifth place was Vinton-Shellsburg.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Nice toe touches there in the middle.

The two colors of poms really make it a visually interesting routine.

Turnage: Yeah, especially that red.

Dana: It pops.

♪♪ Turnage: Another element of their costuming is the hat because their hats draw attention to head placement, which is a great visual, but it can also add to the difficulty.

Clear Lake, however, is bringing the difficulty.

They're doing a wonderful job!

♪♪ Dana: Their moves are so strong.

I'm sure their arms are noodles by the end.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Nice job!

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Davenport Assumption earned first place in Class VIII Pom.

Ballard placed second.

In third was Grinnell.

Fourth place was Humboldt.

And in fifth place was Knoxville.

♪♪ Enyart: Great athletic moves to open up this routine by Assumption.

♪♪ Turnage: That switch from the diagonal to the horizontal lines very well done.

Kept their spacing.

Excellent.

Nice turn there.

♪♪ Turnage: Our audience attendance was limited due to the COVID restrictions.

Normally the dancers are pulling energy from the crowd.

But here, Davenport Assumption is making their own energy and doing a beautiful job.

Dana: And their showmanship is great, their facials.

♪♪ Dana: Ooh, a tempo change there.

That adds to the difficulty.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Faced with many challenges brought on by the pandemic, the ISDTA created a special task force to develop a plan for this year's event.

Here's a look at some of the changes implemented with the goal of keeping everyone safe.

♪♪ ♪♪ Andrea Dana: I think anybody that participated and competed this year has a new sense of appreciation for being able to compete and be a part of the ISDTA Championships.

I think it means more now because we almost didn't have it.

And in our 45th year, it almost wasn't, but we made it happen.

And we were stronger than whatever was thrown at us, even at the last minute.

Andrea: With the challenges of the pandemic this year, safety was first and foremost top of mind.

How can we keep our athletes safe and also have a competition?

Early in May we created a task force to get our teams back to practice safely.

Athletes could not have any physical touch or contact throughout choreography.

And this is a major change.

A lot of the choreography that our teams do does require touching.

Andrea: Unique to this year's competition we allowed virtual submissions for competition as well as in-person submissions.

The judges were virtual and they watched the recordings that were either submitted or recorded in Des Moines.

Andrea: We historically would use just one side of the arena.

This year we used both sides and that allowed us to use two warm-up areas on opposite ends of the court and only allowed three teams at a time in the warm-up areas.

Andrea: We did allow spectators to attend.

It was limited to 2 spectators per athlete.

Every other row of seating was blocked off.

And we also, in terms of the format and scheduling of our competition, we expanded it from our normal two days to three days.

This allowed us to manage how many teams were there at one time and how many spectators where there.

Andrea: Additionally, masks were required for everyone.

Of course, our athletes wore those up until the point they entered the floor.

And then as soon as they exited the floor, the masks were put back on.

Andrea: One of our goals with scheduling was to allow our schools to come to Des Moines in one day.

Historically, there's a lot of teams that make a tradition of staying in Des Moines in a hotel the night before or the night after their performance.

We knew that this year that could not happen.

♪♪ Andrea: I received so many positive remarks from coaches, from teenagers, from parents, who wanted these kids to have a positive experience and it's all worth it.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: And now back to the action with the champions in Class IV Jazz, Oskaloosa.

Bondurant-Farrar placed second.

Third place was LeMars.

Carlisle came in fourth.

And in fifth place was Carroll.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: Oskaloosa is bringing some very strong, athletic moves to their choreography here.

Beautiful unison work in their turns.

Very well done.

♪♪ Dana: They're doing a nice job in their choreography accenting with the music.

We call that musicality.

♪♪ Turnage: There's aerials, which is basically a no-handed cartwheel, very difficult to execute.

They did it great together.

Well done!

♪♪ Dana: Our judging this year was done virtually following our event by leaders in the industry across the country.

♪♪ Turnage: Although the judges were not there in person, the criteria of a championship routine remained the same.

100 points possible on the score sheet and teams needed to bring it to get that championship trophy.

Turnage: Oskaloosa is showing us that they deserved that 1st place.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Urbandale earned top honors in Class V Jazz.

♪♪ Enyart: Second place was Spencer.

Fort Dodge came in third.

In fourth was Dallas Center-Grimes.

And Newton came in fifth.

♪♪ Enyart: You'll notice a chance of scenery here.

This is our first example of a virtually submitted performance.

♪♪ Dana: I'm so thankful for the options we provided teams this year to be able to compete.

And Urbandale is a great example here.

They couldn't come in-person.

But they could still compete by recording their routine from their home gym.

Turnage: And they certainly brought results as they brought home that 1st place trophy.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: The costuming is beautiful in this routine.

Every time they turn or rotate it's an added visual effect.

♪♪ Turnage: And they're generating energy amongst themselves with their vocals.

Nice unison leap.

Dana: Beautiful technique.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: There's no place like first place for Southeast Polk, the champions in Class VI Jazz.

Second place was Pleasant Valley.

There was a tie for third between Ankeny Centennial and Dowling Catholic.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy placed fourth.

And in fifth place was Bettendorf.

Southeast Polk also earned a Judge's Choice Award for this Wizard of Oz themed jazz routine.

♪♪ Dana: This is such a captivating routine.

And you're just wowed at what this large numbered team can do in unison, their technique, it's flawless.

It's so well-performed.

♪♪ Turnage: That Wizard of Oz idea there, the costuming in the front with the light blue of Dorothy and pink and then the black of the good and the bad witch and then the green of Emerald City.

I love it.

Enyart: Great turn sequence here.

Turnage: And again, with the spacing limitations that were put on due to the COVID protocols they are utilizing the floor in a beautiful way.

♪♪ Turnage: All of those aerials, so hard!

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: And now we'll see Pleasant Valley who placed second in Class VI Jazz, but also earned a Judge's Choice Award.

Dana: This category was pretty entertaining I would say.

Turnage: Off the charts, yes.

♪♪ Dana: This year we awarded six Judge's Choice Awards.

And this award is based on the nominations from our judges on routines that stood out to them across the entire competition that they see.

It is a coveted award by these teams and is anticipated each year at the end of our award ceremony.

♪♪ Turnage: Pleasant Valley is so good!

The control, the changes in formations, the levels.

Just incredible and highly deserving of this Judge's Choice Award.

Dana: I think this team could do turns for days.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Wow!

Right there in the middle, that's great!

♪♪ Turnage: And I love the attitude and the whole spirit they bring to this routine.

It's just great.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Monticello earned first place in Class I Lyrical.

Second place was Kuemper Catholic.

Tipton placed third.

And in fourth place was Clarion-Goldfield-Dows.

♪♪ Dana: I love the costuming that Monticello chose for this routine.

Their skirt when they turn just flows so beautifully and it really enhances the visuals in their performance.

Turnage: Lyrical is a category where the teams can really draw on the storytelling element that the music is providing.

And they are doing a beautiful job of portraying the music through their movement.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: Nice use of showcasing individual talents.

Enyart: A very graceful and technically sound performance by Monticello.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: In Class II Lyrical, Bondurant-Farrar took home top honors.

Second place was Lewis Central.

Third place was North Scott.

Carlisle came in fourth.

And in fifth place was Sergeant Bluff-Luton.

♪♪ Dana: This leg extension turn into the aerial.

That's incredibly difficult and they did it so well.

♪♪ Turnage: These dancers make it look graceful, beautiful and it is.

But it is also very physically demanding, hours and hours of training.

Gorgeous.

♪♪ Enyart: Enjoy the Iowa State Dance Team Championships online at iowapbs.org.

♪♪ Dana: Beautiful turns by Bondurant.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Linn-Mar earned the championship in Class III Lyrical.

Second place was Dowling Catholic.

Johnston came in third.

And in fourth place was Ankeny.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: This is such a beautiful interpretation of the lyrics and the rhythm in this piece of music.

Turnage: The red is such a wonderful color on the floor.

Just fabulous.

Dana: There's a lot of detail and intricate work done in this choreography and Linn-Mar is pulling it off so beautifully in their turns and emotions and strength and every movement.

Well, well done.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: A lot of practice has gone into this.

Turnage: And the fact that they probably weren't able to practice as much as they wanted to due to the quarantining or closures, all of those challenges.

It's incredible.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Up next we see Johnston who placed third in Class III Lyrical and earned a Judge's Choice Award.

♪♪ Dana: This is such a beautiful performance by Johnston.

It is elegant, it's graceful and full of technical skills.

Turnage: The music is gorgeous and they're doing a fabulous job.

And this is a perfect example of a Judge's Choice Award does not need to be a first place award.

It also speaks quite highly to the competitive nature of this lyrical category.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: The emotion here is just -- ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Our champion in Small School Kick was South Hamilton.

Second place was Humboldt.

And Kingsley-Pierson placed third.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Our kick category looks a little different this year.

With our choreography restrictions of no physical contact throughout choreogrpahy, our kick lines are not kick lines anymore.

However, I commend these few teams that did kick this year to kick singly, where in a typical year you would see in a kick category where the dancers would be connected at the arms throughout the routine.

Turnage: I love this routine.

I love the music.

I love the costumes.

It is so fun.

And South Hamilton is doing a beautiful job overcoming the challenges of the kick protocol that we had to institute.

So entertaining!

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: It takes a lot of control to kick and stay in one place.

I challenge anyone to try it at home.

♪♪ Enyart: They did a nice job of including a wide variety of kicks.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Ankeny Centennial earned first place in Large School Kick.

Second place was Davenport Central.

And in third place was Davenport West.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: This is such a classic kick routine, the music, the costuming, so well done.

Great work on that long diagonal.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: Ankeny Centennial is doing a fabulous job of using the floor and giving us wonderful visuals.

That's a great visual as well.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: ISDTA values the accomplishments of our dance athletes both on and off the floor.

And we've been proudly recognizing and rewarding these outstanding efforts for many years.

Here are the special award recipients from this year.

♪♪ Enyart: Linn-Mar, Newton, Waterloo East and Western Christian earned the Sportsmanship Awards.

Our Top Academic Teams were Baxter, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Creston, Iowa City Liberty, Iowa City Regina, Kingsley-Pierson and Sioux Center.

♪♪ Enyart: Grinnell, Knoxville, Kuemper Catholic, Mason City, Panorama, Pleasantville and Waverly-Shell Rock were recognized for their outstanding community service.

8 ISDTA teams participated in the Susan G. Komen fundraising efforts.

The top fundraising individual was Kendall Krichau from Pleasantville.

And the top fundraising team was Pleasantville.

♪♪ Enyart: Character Counts Team of the Year was Des Moines Lincoln, coached by Ashley Johnson and Charice Gomez was recognized as the ISDTA Friend of Drill Team.

♪♪ Enyart: The Senior Scholarship Recipients were Ella Jahner, Mikayla Fjeld, Jami Martin-Trainor and Caitlin Weber.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: We now move into the Hip Hop category with our champions in Class I, Springville.

Second place was Ar-We-Va. Montezma placed third.

Baxter came in fourth.

And in fifth place was Graettinger-Terril-Ruthven -Ayrshire.

Enyart: I'm Scott Enyart along with Lois Turnage and Andrea Dana bringing you highlights of the 2021 Iowa State: Dance Team Championships.

♪♪ Turnage: Well, hip hop is always a real popular category for the teams and for the audience.

The music mixes, the choreography, costuming, it's just a lot of fun.

Springville has got a lot of different levels, movements, energy, storytelling, very cute.

♪♪ Turnage: Good levels there, it accents the music.

Strong beats in hip hop so you always want to bring it big.

♪♪ Dana: Interestingly, in the week before State we had only 5 teams planning to submit their performances virtually.

That number grew to 70 teams in the following days, including the days we were in Des Moines.

There were a lot of last-minute changes for these teams and they adapted so well.

I commend them.

♪♪ Turnage: Fun routine, Springville.

Congratulations on your first place!

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: The champion in Class II Hip Hop was Newman Catholic.

West Fork placed second.

Third place was Southeast Warren.

Akron-Westfield came in fourth.

And in fifth place was North Union.

♪♪ Dana: Nice strong and unison movements.

In hip hop there can be a lot of individual styles, but Newman Catholic really pulled it together to look like a team.

♪♪ Turnage: Nice isolations there with the body movements.

The use of their hair with the big ponytail is a visual imagery as well.

Dana: A little hairography.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Our class sizes are determined by school enrollment numbers and not by team size.

This allows our teams to compete against similar sized schools.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Kuemper Catholic earned first place in Class III Hip Hop.

Waterloo Columbus Catholic placed second.

We had a tie for third between Central Decatur and Louisa Muscatine.

Missouri Valley placed fourth.

And in fifth place was Western Christian.

♪♪ Dana: Their pink jacket just pops on the floor.

It is so fun.

I think I want one.

♪♪ Turnage: It actually provides movement as they turn, rotate, go to the floor, pop back up.

Just that little flutter of the jacket is a visual effect that is a lot of fun.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: And that is one of the challenges that the coaches always take into account as they are planning their competition routines.

What is a visual effect?

What is something that is going to make us look different and stand out?

But this year, knowing that the judges were not going to be there in-person, very, very important the visual impact of these routines to make them look different, to stand out, to be memorable.

♪♪ Turnage: Kuemper is certainly doing that.

♪♪ Dana: And they're showing their energy really well.

Good showmanship in the musicality and their choreography is done very, very well.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: North Union earned first place in Class I Novelty.

Second place was Pleasantville.

Third place was Baxter.

Boyer Valley came in fourth.

And North Cedar placed fifth.

♪♪ Dana: In our novelty category, the choreography these two demonstrate and depict a story.

And here North Union is representing a dance-off through their mirror imaging costuming, their choreography, their staging.

It's a fun routine.

♪♪ Turnage: And then they come together and everybody is a friend.

That's what dance does, it brings us together.

Right?

Dana: That's right!

♪♪ Enyart: Enjoy the Iowa State Dance Team Championships online at iowapbs.org.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: I do appreciate how they use some familiar choreography that associates with the song.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Iowa Falls-Alden was ready to rumble as they won Class II Novelty.

Second place was PCM.

Third place was Winterset.

Pella placed fourth.

And in fifth place was Unity Christian.

Dana: We have a boxing theme here.

This is such a well thought out theme and routine and choreography.

It incorporates so many elements and it looks like they're fighting COVID-19 if you look at their signs.

♪♪ Enyart: This is one of our virtually submitted performances.

You see the date time and stamp down at the bottom.

October 24th is when this routine was recorded.

Dana: That's correct.

We started to encourage our coaches to start recording as early as September.

♪♪ Enyart: I really like the group work and the choreography and the boxing gloves really add a neat visual on the floor.

♪♪ Dana: It looks like they have boxing rings and a gym in the background too.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: It's a great mix of music as well.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Mason City won Class III Novelty with this school lunch themed routine.

Second place was Ames.

And third place was Sioux City West.

Dana: I'd like to go to their lunchroom.

They have a lot of fun.

♪♪ Turnage: They've got the tables and the backdrops there.

And of course the students and the lunch lady.

Lots of fun visual.

Dana: And incorporating different styles of dance too.

♪♪ Dana: I love how in character they get.

Their showmanship is just outstanding.

Turnage: Very theatrical.

Dana: And you have to listen to this music.

It is so funny and appropriate.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Mystery meat.

Oh boy!

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: We now move into the Color Guard category with our champions in Class I, Pleasantville.

Second place was Garner-Hayfield/Ventura.

IKM-Manning placed third.

Fourth place was Roland Story.

And in fifth place was Louisa-Muscatine.

♪♪ Turnage: The use of the white flag and the dance work is adding to the storytelling element that is so crucial in a color guard routine.

And now we have the introduction of new equipment as the music changes.

Always visual interest if happening and the equipment enhances that.

♪♪ Enyart: Nice unison flag work.

♪♪ Turnage: Nice toss there center court.

Good visuals throughout.

The equipment always adds difficulty in color guard routines.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Our fellow co-host, Lois Turnage, coached the Pleasantville team for nearly 40 years.

Dana: Although she continues her work as President of the ISDTA, she retired from coaching in July of 2020.

Here's a brief look at her long and prestigious career.

♪♪ ♪♪ Lois Turnage: I've been coaching a total of 45 years, 5 years prior to coming to Pleasantville in the Fall of 1982.

Coming to Pleasantville, we went to State in January of 1983 and soon after that I attended a post-State meeting of the people in charge and I have been involved ever since.

♪♪ Lois: Although I did retire from my coaching position, I continue to serve as President of the Iowa Dance Team Association and that role motivates me and excites me about the many, many things we can bring to dance in the state of Iowa.

Okay monsters, that was great!

Let's do it again!

Lois: My decision to retire in 2020, at State a year ago I really had not made that full decision.

But in January of 2020, I did get a diagnosis of breast cancer.

I was very fortunate that we caught it early.

But, given that diagnosis, given that I was turning 65 this summer, which is still young in my book, but also knowing that my assistant coach at the time was fabulous and more than ready to step into a leadership role, all of those factors combined made me ultimately decide to retire at the conclusion of 2020.

Andrea Dana: Lois Turnage shared with me her recent battle with breast cancer.

And it really struck a chord with me.

And I wanted to do something meaningful and significant.

And one day I received a call from one of Lois' former dance dads and he had the idea to partner with Susan G. Komen Foundation.

ISDTA reaches thousands of young women.

It's a beautiful partnership in that we can educate about breast cancer awareness and early detection as well as support a wonderful foundation like Susan G. Komen and make a greater impact.

Andrea: And this year we had 8 teams across the state raise money.

And the impact was big.

It was $12,000.

Imagine if we had 30 teams or 50 teams and the impact we can have.

It's even more special when this was inspired by Lois, someone who is near and dear to all of our hearts, and someone who has given of her time to others.

It's really quite the honor to give back in honor of her.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Up next we see Creston, the champions in Class II Color Guard.

Second place was Newton.

Estherville Lincoln Central placed third.

In fourth place was North Polk.

And Davis County placed fifth.

♪♪ Turnage: Creston is obviously in their home gym.

But they are using a floor covering, which is certainly an option to color guard teams.

And what it does is creates a stage effect for the performance.

The white silk against that black floor covering really enhances these movements, particularly as they are low.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: And here you'll see the introduction of rifles as a piece of equipment in color guard.

♪♪ Dana: Very dramatic change to the music.

But it aligns with the rifles and the silk changes.

♪♪ Turnage: Nice rifle work.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Great performance by Creston Color Guard.

♪♪ Enyart: Dubuque Senior earned first place in Class III Color Guard.

Second place was Dowling Catholic.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy placed third.

And Marshalltown came in fourth.

♪♪ Dana: This is such a happy, uplifting and cheery routine.

I love it.

The Lorax from Dr. Seuss.

Enyart: I just love all the colors that match that happy feeling.

Turnage: It certainly does tell a story.

And they're using their scenery on the floor to help establish that theme.

Well done.

♪♪ Dana: In addition to no physical contact between our performers in any category, there's also the element of not exchanging any equipment.

For color guard, that means not exchanging flags or rifles.

It could also be not exchanging poms where we would typically see pom switches between performers.

We did not allow that this year.

But I commend the choreographers for getting creative.

♪♪ Turnage: Creativity was off the charts this year.

Congratulations to all of our coaches and teams!

♪♪ Turnage: Nice work.

♪♪ Enyart: We go back to the Pom category with our Class I champion, Storm Lake St. Mary's.

Second place was H-L-V. Boyer Valley placed third.

Don Bosco came in fourth.

And in fifth place was Twin Cedars.

Dana: This year we had 13 classes of Pom.

This is Class I, so this is the smallest schools in the state that competed this year.

And in Class XIII are those largest schools in the state.

Turnage: I love the smiles and the energy on their faces as well.

Just having fun and that's what it's all about.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: The excitement level among all the teams at State this year was elevated because of the uncertainty that we would be able to have the competition at all.

And it was just energy in the air.

It was electric.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: Great mix of music.

They're doing a wonderful job.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Our champion in Class II Pom was Bishop Garrigan.

Newman Catholic placed second.

Kingsley-Pierson came in third.

Westwood placed fourth.

And in fifth place was Southeast Warren.

♪♪ Enyart: Such a super sharp, clean routine.

♪♪ Dana: Beautiful turns.

And kicks.

Those were really nice and high.

♪♪ Enyart: Nice, smooth transition.

♪♪ Turnage: These formations are so visual that they would always be that way.

But the quick movements between formations adds so much.

Just there we transitioned to more of a V-shape.

And the thing that really amazes me is the fact that I know practice time was minimized this year due to the COVID restrictions.

These teams are just looking so well-rehearsed.

It's a real credit to all of them.

Bishop Garrigan, wonderful.

Yet another beautiful transition.

Great showcasing here in the front.

Dana: Nice and powerful.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Lisbon earned top honors in Class III Pom.

Second place was Woodbury Central.

Akron-Westfield and Wapello tied for third.

AGWSR came in fourth.

And in fifth place was Saint Ansgar.

♪♪ Turnage: Nice toe touch jumps there.

♪♪ Dana: Their cut of music has a lot of tempo changes.

Turnage: Yes.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: I just like their energy level throughout this routine.

♪♪ Turnage: And of course in their home gym there's not going to be a crowd that they're performing for.

So they are creating this energy and this power from within, which is really a credit.

They're doing a wonderful job.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: This is very fun.

Nice change of tempo.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: The first place team in Class IV Pom was West Fork.

North Linn placed second.

Third place was Grundy Center.

In fourth was Lawton-Bronson.

And in fifth place was Iowa City Regina.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Nice accent in the music there.

Turnage: Yes!

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: We have so many pom routines in our state competition every year.

This year was no exception.

And the challenge always is to make your routine stand out and really catch the eye of the judges, the audience and bring those top points.

West Fork is doing a wonderful job with that, a lot of great elements, the little pick up movement there across, formation changes of course, levels, tempo changes.

They're putting it all together for this championship routine.

Congratulations!

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Manson Northwest Webster was crowned the champion in Class V Pom.

Pleasantville placed second.

Cascade came in third.

Fourth place was Colfax-Mingo.

And East Sac County placed fifth.

♪♪ Enyart: Manson Northwest Webster used a nice USA type theme throughout this with their music and their costuming and it's such a well-executed performance.

Dana: It's beautifully done.

The choreography, the music, it's just so clean and sharp.

Strong movements.

Turnage: The red poms help accent those movements as well.

♪♪ Turnage: Nice showcasing here in the front with talent on that turn sequence.

Well done.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Nice pick up here with some strong movements.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: We're now going to move into the contemporary category with our Class I champion, Odebolt-Arthur-Battle Creek-Ida Grove.

West Central Valley placed second.

Panorama came in third.

And our fourth place team was Colfax-Mingo.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: Our contemporary category is one where the teams can utilize the lyrics of the song, but they bring the strength and the angular movements and positioning on the floor, technical elements of dance, to create that contemporary interpretation of the music.

♪♪ Dana: This is a beautiful routine.

It just flows so nicely.

But you can feel the emotion throughout it.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: The champion in Class II Contemporary was Ballard.

Second place was Centerville.

Monticello came in third.

And Sergeant Bluff-Luton placed fourth.

Enyart: One of the unique things for Ballard in this performance is the amount of strength that they show and yet still perform with such grace in this contemporary division.

Dana: You can see the intensity on their faces.

Enyart: And feel it through their movement.

♪♪ Turnage: Great transition there into these vertical lines and then a very quick step out and we have a totally different picture on the floor.

There is a category on the score sheet for use of the floor and Ballard is doing a great job of making these formations change quickly.

♪♪ Turnage: Great use of the music there.

♪♪ Turnage: Double aerial, difficult to do, very physically demanding.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Earning first place in Class III Contemporary was Waukee.

Second place was Johnston.

And Iowa City Liberty placed third.

♪♪ Dana: The strength that Waukee displays in this routine is simply wow and these turns.

Turnage: They pick up the tempo even quicker, all in unison.

It's mesmerizing.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: I love the green color.

It's different and it really shows well on the floor.

And I really can't say enough about how the coaches took the obstacle, if you will, of having to be spread out in their formations and made it work.

This is beautiful on the floor the way they are so spread out and yet it's so visual.

♪♪ Dana: Another adjustment to our competition this year was including our solo competition on the same day as our team competition.

This allowed our schools to complete all of their performances in one day.

This year's solo competition had a record number of participants, 780.

Here are this year's solo champions.

♪♪ Enyart: In Class I Dance, Cora Ricke from Bishop Garrigan.

Enyart: In Class II Dance, Taryn Brent from Pleasantville.

Enyart: Our Class III Dance champion was Jordan Douglass from Panorama.

Enyart: In Class IV Dance, Leah Smith from Anamosa.

Enyart: Our Class V Dance champion was Emily LeFevre from Clear Lake.

Enyart: In Class VI Dance, Reegan Flugge from Xavier.

Enyart: In Class VII Dance, Sydnie Offermann from Western Dubuque.

Enyart: The Class VIII Dance champion was Hannah Bain from North Scott.

Enyart: In Class IX Dance, Josie Kaffenberger from Pleasant Valley.

Enyart: And the Class X Dance champion was Jordan Dawson from Waukee.

Enyart: The Small School Color Guard champion was Bridget Hopkins from Creston.

Enyart: And our Large School Color Guard champion is Jacob Brimeyer from Dubuque Senior.

♪♪ Enyart: Up next we're going to see the college champions.

We're going to begin with the champion in Community College Pom, Iowa Central Community College.

Second place was North Iowa Area Community College.

Third place was Kirkwood.

And Iowa Lakes came in fourth.

♪♪ Enyart: I'm Scott Enyart along with Lois Turnage and Andrea Dana bringing you highlights of the 2021 Iowa State Dance Team Championships.

♪♪ Dana: Our college competitors are always a highlight of our competition.

This year we had 17 colleges competing, many of them from their home gyms, as you will see.

♪♪ Turnage: I love the spirit and the energy that these college teams bring.

We certainly see it from the high school teams too.

But just that level of energetic school spirit that they're bringing here and translating to us as an audience and as viewers is so exciting.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: It's pretty impressive how large this team is.

With it being a community college, two years, and pulling this team together in such a short period of time is really impressive.

Turnage: They look like they've been dancing together forever.

And yet they probably represent all kinds of dance programs from Iowa and other states.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Our champion in Division II/III Pom was Simpson College.

Second place was Central College.

And in third place was Buena Vista University.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Our colleges have the opportunity to compete in three different categories.

Pom, Hip Hop and Jazz.

♪♪ Enyart: Nice turns here.

Enyart: Enjoy the Iowa State Dance Team Championships online at iowapbs.org.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: Nice levels there.

The music mix is great too.

♪♪ Enyart: As you can see, this was taped at Simpson College, and that was because they virtually submitted their performance.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Up next is our champion in NAIA Pom, this is St. Ambrose University.

Second place was Dordt University.

And third place was Mount Mercy University.

♪♪ Dana: This beginning is really, really exciting.

It shows a lot of talent and strength in these dance athletes at St. Ambrose.

♪♪ Turnage: And their formation changes are so quick, very visual.

They're using the music accents to showcase their different talents level, like right there.

And the contrary movements, here we are in yet another formation, they're just doing a great job.

♪♪ Enyart: One of the things I like seeing from St. Ambrose is all their nice, straight arm angles.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Having our colleges a part of our competition is a great recruiting avenue for them.

They have thousands of high school dancers looking up to them and wanting to continue their dance beyond high school.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: We're now going into the Community College Hip Hop category with our champion Iowa Central Community College.

Kirkwood placed second.

And in third place was North Iowa Area Community College.

♪♪ Dana: That's a lot of energy coming from the team on the floor and powerful moves.

And these jumpsuits are really fun, gives them actually a really nice, clean look.

♪♪ Turnage: Giving us a lot of levels here, down on the floor and then we pop up.

Lots of body strength and core strength required for those movements.

♪♪ Enyart: Lots of visual interest in the choreography here.

♪♪ Turnage: Good use of the music there.

That was a lot of personality they were able to communicate.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Excellent routine by Iowa Central Community College.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: The Division II/III Hip Hop champion was Simpson College.

Second place was Buena Vista University.

♪♪ Turnage: This routine is bringing the Simpson College school spirit wearing the jerseys.

I'm sure when they perform for ball games on their campus or other events it's a very great way to just bring all that together and just represent their school.

♪♪ Turnage: Of course, this year with the ball game schedules so altered, the performance opportunities have been minimized.

They're doing a great job here and having a good time doing it.

♪♪ Dana: Nice series there on the floor with hip-ups and the headsprings.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Great unison work here.

♪♪ Dana: Oh wow, the whole team doing headsprings.

Way to go!

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: The champion in NAIA Hip Hop was St. Ambrose University.

Grandview University placed second.

And Mount Mercy University placed third.

♪♪ Dana: You can just hear them building the energy, talking to one another to get them through this routine.

♪♪ Dana: I love their choice of the sweatshirt.

But they have to make the moves that much bigger and more aggressive and they're doing an excellent job.

♪♪ Dana: Their headsprings are outstanding.

Turnage: It's so hard to do all together.

♪♪ Dana: It's all their strength and conditioning they do.

Turnage: I think so.

It's paying off.

Dana: And lot of these college programs do offer scholarships.

So, high school dancers, if you're interested, start looking.

Tryout season comes in April.

Turnage: That's a clever visual.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: They're doing a nice job with different tempo changes and musicality in this routine.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: And we have a Cyclone warning.

Iowa State University the champions in Division I Hip Hop.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: Once again, that school spirit and that pride very, very evident in this performance.

Of course, the music brings the whole Cyclone Nation to their feet.

Dana: There's so much visualness in this routine.

It's impressive.

And when you have that many dancers on the floor it makes it a lot easier to add some variety to the formations, even with our choreography restrictions.

♪♪ Dana: As you can see here, Iowa State University is wearing masks.

This does not count against them at all in the judging.

There are several of our colleges that require their athletes to wear masks during their performances.

♪♪ Enyart: That was very visual and fun.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: We now move into the Jazz category with our Community College champion, Iowa Central.

Second place was Kirkwood.

And Hawkeye Community College placed third.

♪♪ Turnage: Very dramatic music, very strong.

Iowa Central is coming right out and establishing that mood and that element of visual interest.

Beautifully done.

♪♪ Dana: Our college teams had a lot of hurdles as well as our high school teams when it came to their seasons.

They were shortened and despite their shortened seasons, minimal practices, I'm so grateful that 17 of our Iowa programs decided to compete this year.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Beautiful technique displayed by this team.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Central College earned first place in Division II/III Jazz.

Simpson College placed second.

♪♪ Turnage: Beautiful work here in the front.

Gorgeous aerial there.

Dana: Great turns.

Turnage: Yes.

And I love the way that center group came forward.

It's a wonderful staging.

Dana: Showing a little school spirit in their masks.

Turnage: Indeed.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Nice dramatic movements to match the dramatic music.

Turnage: Yes.

They're constantly moving.

Dana: I love the choreography.

Turnage: Oh, I do too, and the execution of it.

Beautifully done.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: St. Ambrose University won the NAIA Jazz category.

Second place was Grand View University.

And Mount Mercy University placed third.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Lots of power and strength throughout this routine.

Dana: And difficulty.

Enyart: They add in a touch of grace in their movements here.

A nice contrast in the music and in their choreography.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: Great!

Love the way it led into this combination.

Fabulous.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Loved your performance!

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Up next we see Grand View University who placed second in NAIA Jazz but earned a Judge's Choice Award for this routine.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: There is so much emotion being displayed on these dancers' faces, but through their movements as well.

It gives me goosebumps any time I watch it.

You can tell this is a special routine to them.

Turnage: Constantly shifting formations on the floor, positioning on the floor, levels and of course their technical strength, their control.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Beautifully done by Grand View University.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: The University of Northern Iowa took home the championship in Division I Jazz.

♪♪ Dana: I thoroughly enjoyed this routine.

It's so graceful.

It's gorgeous.

The choreography is beautiful.

♪♪ Turnage: It's so musically done.

The music is so beautiful and touching and the choreography matches it.

And then of course you can have that fabulous choreography and not be able to execute it.

But that's not the case here.

The UNI Dance Team is bringing it.

♪♪ Turnage: Well done.

Dana: The variation of their turns within that sequence makes it very difficult.

Turnage: And unpredictable.

You don't expect that to happen.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Beautifully done.

♪♪ Enyart: And we're going back to our high school action and Clayton Ridge was over the rainbow with their championship performance in Small School Prop.

Second place was Saint Ansgar.

And third place was Sioux Central.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: The dancers have to manipulate a prop throughout the routine.

That has to be the focus.

And in this case, Clayton Ridge has rainbow type material that is weighted so it's just beautiful and they can manipulate it.

I would get tangled personally.

But it is so well in sync and I love the tempo of this music.

It's so upbeat.

Turnage: They're doing a nice job of utilizing different angles with this prop so it really does create visual interest.

Dana: It's fascinating the creativity that comes into what would seem as a simple prop.

But there's so much you can do with it, as they're proving here.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: And the tempo of the music matches everything that they're doing.

It's great.

Dana: I absolutely love it.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Denison-Schleswig are our champions in Large School Prop.

Second place was Mason City.

And Nevada came in third.

♪♪ Dana: Playing the imaginary violin here.

Turnage: Yes.

Those are actually violin bows and they are doing a really good job of using it and then their music, of course, helps enhance that.

♪♪ Enyart: Very fun music, that kind of upbeat rock style violin.

Dana: And it's unique.

I can't remember the last time I've seen a routine like this.

Turnage: No.

Enyart: Never.

And then the little bits of choreography, adding the motion of the bow.

♪♪ Turnage: But then we get the chairs in there, so that helps utilize yet another piece of equipment.

Dana: And as you can see, they well thought out their choreography that the same girls are using the same chairs so that they're not sharing equipment.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: I wonder if any of these girls actually play the violin.

That would be interesting, wouldn't it?

They all could after this routine.

♪♪ Dana: And then simulating a tap routine.

How cool is that?

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Davenport Central was kicking up their heels as champions of the Co-Ed Division.

♪♪ Turnage: Co-Ed is another category that really found themselves challenged with the COVID restrictions.

Typically there's a lot of partner work, and of course we couldn't do that.

But the way they have staged this, their costuming, their formations, you still get that sense of partners and it's a lot of fun.

The music makes it very entertaining.

♪♪ Turnage: Oh, nice work there guys!

Dana: It's fun to get those boys involved and appreciate what our dancers do.

♪♪ Enyart: I know it's a small thing, but it's a big thing, the hats.

It's wonderful, the cowboy hats with this routine is wonderful.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Sioux City East earned the championship in the All-Male category.

Second place was Des Moines Lincoln.

And Davenport Central placed third.

♪♪ Dana: So our All-Male category is just that.

It is a team comprised of all male dancers and these boys are having fun.

Enyart: It's a great hip hop routine.

Dana: It might have a little something to do with the music.

I bet they enjoy it.

Turnage: I love the shoes and actually the reflection in the floor is a visual element.

I'm sure it was unintended.

But the white shoe against that black pant really brings their footwork to the forefront and they're doing a great job.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: You can tell these guys have practiced.

There's a lot of unison.

They know what they're doing.

They mean business.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: B-G-M hit the jackpot in Small School Show Production earning first place.

♪♪ B-G-M is using bingo night at the senior center as their theme for Show Production.

And our Show Production category is longer in time, it is designed to give the teams entering that category the opportunity to utilize more music, more staging, and ultimately more storytelling with their Show Production theme.

Oh, looks like somebody got bingo!

♪♪ Turnage: Show Production can also incorporate more members than just the actual high school dance team.

They can bring in some other members as well to supplement.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: They put a lot of thought into their costuming here.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: And our champion in Large School Show Production was Ames.

♪♪ Enyart: Enjoy the Iowa State Dance Team Championships online at iowapbs.org.

♪♪ Dana: I think we have a workout theme here.

The girls are breaking a sweat.

♪♪ Dana: In our 45th year of competition, we never would have imagined all the different changes we would have to incorporate this year, many of which we really liked and we will likely be incorporating in the next year and the years to come.

All the challenges that we were given to think differently, I really think it's just going to make us that much better as we move forward.

Turnage: That's right.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Gotta love the cowbell.

Enyart: You can never have too much cowbell, right?

Dana: Love, love that center solo.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: We now move into the Hoopla category with our Small School champion, Alta-Aurelia.

Second place was South Hamilton.

Third place was MFL MarMac.

Storm Lake St. Mary's came in fourth.

And Interstate 35 placed fifth.

♪♪ Enyart: This is just a really clean, sharp routine and I love the color changes of their hooplas.

♪♪ Dana: It not only adds to the visual aspects of this routine, but it adds to the difficulty.

When you're practicing with multiple colors, you have to make sure you get the right color facing forward.

Enyart: They do a really good job with all of their arm angles as well.

♪♪ Dana: That's really cool.

Enyart: So visual.

♪♪ Dana: We have a lot of teams that enter hoopla.

It's a lot of fun for the dancers, I believe.

And it's a crowd pleaser.

♪♪ Turnage: Essentially a hoopla is Mylar streamers attached to a round frame.

These are on the frame pretty tightly, which adds to the precision.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: And our champion in the Large School Hoopla category was Sioux City North.

Second place was Storm Lake.

And Humboldt placed third.

♪♪ Dana: And yes, you're hearing the same song.

That does happen occasionally.

This one is just at a faster tempo and it's a popular song.

It has a great beat.

I'd pick it too.

Sioux City North is looking great out here on the floor with their two different colors of hooplas and doing some different level work here.

♪♪ Turnage: Adds to the visual interest when some are low, some are high.

Great contrast.

♪♪ Turnage: And again, the quick formation changes lend themselves to the visual interest of the routine.

♪♪ Turnage: These hooplas have a little more streamer effect to them, which of course alters the look a little bit.

♪♪ Enyart: Nice tempo change there with that contagion ripple effect.

Turnage: Loved it, Sioux City North!

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: The light category requires a darkened venue making it difficult to capture footage for television.

Here is our tribute to this year's first place routines.

♪♪ Enyart: Our champion in Small School Lights was East Sac County.

♪♪ Enyart: And our champion in Large School Lights was Hampton-Dumont-CAL.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: We tip our hats to Bishop Garrigan, the champions in Class I Jazz.

Second place was Lisbon.

LeMars Gehlen Catholic placed third.

B-G-M came in fourth.

And CAM Anita placed fifth.

♪♪ Enyart: Bishop Garrigan earned a Judge's Choice Award for their jazz performance.

♪♪ This is such a classy routine.

The choreography, the costuming, so well thought out.

Really, really enjoyed this routine.

♪♪ Turnage: It's definitely classic jazz, very entertaining.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: This is great, the tempos, the showcasing on the turns.

Good job.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Fun transitions there, different levels making it very visual.

♪♪ Turnage: It's such a great piece of music.

♪♪ Dana: Beautiful technique.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Kuemper Catholic earned the championship in Class II Jazz.

Second place was Iowa City Regina.

We had a tie for third between Eagle Grove and Alburnett.

Fourth place was Panorama.

And Wilton came in fifth.

♪♪ Turnage: This is a very visual, strong routine.

Many quick changes.

♪♪ Dana: A lot of dramatic accents in the music and those are replicated and shown through their movements and their isolations.

♪♪ Turnage: Beautifully done there.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: The Eagle Grove Dance Team has triplets and their mother is the coach, Ann Sampson.

This year's competition held special significance for her and her girls.

♪♪ Ann Sampson: I have identical triplet girls and they were certainly a surprise and a blessing all in one.

They also have been dancing since age 4.

So they have loved dance.

And when it became high school time they tried out for the high school drill team and of course they made it and I was just honored and thrilled that we could have these four years together.

I am Kaitlin and I'm the oldest.

I'm Megan and I'm the middle.

I'm Hannah and I am the youngest.

Kaitlin: So, having mom as a dance coach wasn't always easy.

But I wouldn't want to have it any other way.

She has always done so much for us and helped us be better as dancers.

She's able to be there for us all the time, coaching and as a mom.

Hannah: My mom has always been a part of ISDTA within the small town of Eagle Grove.

She started her own dance team here.

And we would go in as little kids in elementary, we'd run around the gym, cause chaos within the dance team and practices.

Ann: They looked up to those big girls and here they are now, the big girls.

It's kind of surreal that they're graduating.

It just seems like yesterday when we were having the triplets.

And I am so proud of what they have accomplished.

Kaitlin: This year is so special for us because it's our last go-around together.

My mom has been coaching for 27 years and we've been dancing for 14 years.

Hannah: And these past 4 years have really flown by.

I can remember the first time we did this Iowa PBS television my freshman year and now I get to do it for a final time my senior year.

Will the real triplets please shake your poms!

There we go!

Ann: This year was very surreal.

It has been a difficult year with all of the restrictions, battling quarantine with the girls.

As a team we had prayed, we had sacrificed, we had dreamed of the opportunity to compete down at State and we made it.

We talked about that as a team and we cherish every moment.

Megan: I feel like dance has helped me in all aspects of my life because I worked so hard for something I wanted so bad and I was able to be successful.

Hannah: We've been able to juggle different groups and activities within dance since dance is an all-year round sport.

Kaitlin: And it has also taught me how to push myself and to multitask as well.

Ann: I had decided that I was going to retire when the girls graduated and the girls will be going off to college.

And I certainly want to be a part of that as well.

One of the praises I have always enjoyed was as a coach, a good coach, is when their athletes gain something from their experience that will make them better as an adult.

And we do that through the arena of dance.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Clear Lake earned the championship in Class III Jazz.

Second place was Davenport Assumption.

Third place was Centerville.

Grinnell came in fourth.

And Wahlert Catholic placed fifth.

♪♪ Dana: I always enjoy watching Clear Lake do their jazz.

All their movements are so tight and strong and powerful and their leaps and jumps are explosive.

Beautiful turns there.

♪♪ Turnage: I like the staging that they did there with the two and then the rest of the group, a nice contrast yet it all ties together.

Great control and strength of movement there.

♪♪ Enyart: Nice turn sequence there.

I just love the energy they bring to the floor.

Dana: There's a lot of talent on this team.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Excellent job, Clear Lake!

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Up next is our champion in the Military category, Pella.

Winterset placed second.

Manson Northwest Webster came in third.

And Clayton Ridge placed fourth.

Enyart: Pella earned a Judge's Choice Award for their efforts in Military.

♪♪ Dana: This is an awesome routine by Pella.

The Military category is all about precision, which you will see well-executed in this routine.

And it is precision of every body part of these dancers, their arms, legs, hands, heads, every movement and formations.

You'll see a lot of different formations here.

♪♪ Turnage: Their costuming is visually effective as well.

The straps across the back and when they make those body changes and angle differences, that is apparent.

Enyart: And I like the intensity of their movement that matches the intensity of the music.

Dana: Very well-choreographed.

♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: A lot of moves that require strength and balance throughout this routine.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: The champion in Class X Pom was Xavier.

Second place was Oskaloosa.

Third place was Pella.

Spencer came in fourth.

And Waverly-Shell Rock placed fifth.

Dana: Wow!

What an opener here by Xavier.

Actually they don't stop the whole routine.

It's so clean and impressive.

And I do need to note, I love the backdrop that their coach put in for their recording with the balloons.

Enyart: I know they found out the week before that they couldn't actually perform in-person and yet they made this moment so special for the kids with the balloon backdrops.

I know they weren't there in-person physically, but in spirit you know that they were there.

Dana: Yes, there's a lot of teams that did their performances in their home gym with backdrops such as this.

Enyart: Such a well-executed routine.

Dana: Definitely a routine to be proud of, Xavier.

♪♪ Turnage: Great formations and transitions there, keeping the energy going and visual interest.

Three different groups doing three different things and yet it all works because it's just all great.

♪♪ Dana: Beautiful toe touches.

Wow!

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Our champion in Class XI Pom was Western Dubuque.

Second place was Lewis Central.

North Scott placed third.

Fort Dodge came in fourth.

And in fifth place was Newton.

♪♪ Dana: I have to point out the uniqueness of the music choice.

I love it, absolutely love it.

It's unexpected, it's difficult to count and who would have thought it would be for Pom, but they're doing such a great job.

Enyart: The other fun thing with the music, I think it was a little play on words with the situation of COVID this year.

Dana: Most likely.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: Lots of switches, very fun.

♪♪ Dana: Can't Touch This.

Yes, it is definitely a play on a situation.

Enyart: You better believe it.

Turnage: Nice turns in the front.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: Nice!

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Pleasant Valley was crowned the champion in Class XII Pom.

Second place was Bettendorf.

Ames placed third.

Iowa City City High came in fourth.

And in fifth place was Muscatine.

Dana: This is a beautiful routine.

So many technical elements adding to the difficulty.

They execute it in such a clean and sharp way.

And they just made that look easy.

♪♪ Dana: I could watch this team do turns all day long.

Enyart: I love the energy they bring.

But man, it takes a lot of conditioning and a lot of strength training to be able to pull this off.

Turnage: It truly is amazing.

♪♪ Turnage: Great contrary movement there, always changing form.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: Awesome job, Pleasant Valley!

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Linn-Mar took home the championship in Class XIII Pom.

Second place was Southeast Polk.

Third place was Waukee.

Cedar Rapids Prairie placed fourth.

And Ankeny placed fifth.

Enyart: Linn-Mar earned a Judge's Choice Award for this very innovative pom routine.

Turnage: This is textbook basically, everything about this routine is so good.

Dana: These turns would be a prime example.

Turnage: Yes.

Enyart: Oh, that was awesome!

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: I keep thinking about how practice times for these teams were compromised because of the COVID restrictions and you would never know it.

It's phenomenal.

Enyart: I just love all the angles that they put into their choreography.

♪♪ Turnage: Very good!

♪♪ Enyart: Amazing visuals here.

♪♪ Dana: Wow!

Enyart: Yeah, nice feature.

Dana: Excellent job, Linn-Mar!

Loved your performance!

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: And we move back into the Hip Hop category with our Class IV champion, New Hampton.

Second place was PCM.

Union came in third.

Fourth place was OA-BCIG.

And Sheldon came in fifth.

♪♪ Dana: Nice strong hip-ups there.

Enyart: I see this routine, I just think strength and power all the way through.

Dana: And fun.

Turnage: Yes.

♪♪ Dana: You can always tell when a team really enjoys their choreography.

They get into it more, they believe in it and you can tell that this team does with this routine.

♪♪ Dana: Nice balance and flexibility there.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: The costuming is fun, comfy.

How can you go wrong?

Dana: There's a white stripe down that sweatshirt.

Turnage: Fun footwork with those white shoes too.

They've got it all going on.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Our first place team in Class V Hip Hop was Clear Lake.

Second place was Winterset.

Sioux Center came in third.

Davenport Assumption placed fourth.

And we had a tie for fifth between Grinnell and Bondurant-Farrar.

♪♪ Turnage: These pink pants are awesome, so visual.

Dana: And they're using those long braided ponytails in their choreography.

♪♪ Dana: Every move is so strong, so impressive.

♪♪ ♪♪ Turnage: Oh, that was nice with the aerial going through with contrary movement of the diagonals.

♪♪ Dana: Fun, fast hand work there.

♪♪ Turnage: Lots of personality.

♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: Mason City took home top honors in Class VI Hip Hop.

Second place was Western Dubuque.

Third place was Fort Dodge.

Dallas Center-Grimes came in fourth.

And Denison-Schleswig came in fifth.

♪♪ Dana: Another powerful hip hop routine.

It is no joke to be a dancer.

You are a strong athlete.

Turnage: Absolutely.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Dana: This year's awards ceremony was streamed online and teams had socially-distanced watch parties to celebrate.

The following four days, Lois, myself and my parents drove the state of Iowa to deliver these trophies to these well-deserving teams.

Turnage: It was a lot of fun.

Dana: And a lot of fun memories to go along with it.

Turnage: We were happy to deliver a first place trophy to Mason City for this fun routine.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Enyart: And we're going to close out our show this year with a well-orchestrated routine by Southeast Polk, the first place team in Class VII Hip Hop.

Second place was Waukee.

Sioux City East came in third.

Ankeny placed fourth.

And Urbandale came in fifth.

♪♪ Dana: These are the coolest maestros I've ever seen.

So hard hitting, the musicality is just brilliant, I love it.

Boom!

Turnage: Yeah!

♪♪ Turnage: I love the use of the classical music, which wouldn't be considered hip hop necessarily.

But their choreography created it as a hip hop routine.

So that made it incredibly unique, memorable, visual, so much fun.

♪♪ Turnage: Wow!

What a show!

So many helped make these dance championships a reality.

Working together we took lemons and we made lemonade.

Enyart: We want to take time to thank the coaches for their leadership, the parents for all their support and the kids for all their perseverance this year.

Dana: This is Andrea Dana along with Lois Turnage and Scott Enyart.

A sincere and proud congratulations to all of this year's teams.

Thank you for watching.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Funding provided by Friends, the Iowa PBS Foundation, as well as generations of family and friends who feel passionate about the programs they watch on Iowa PBS.

Fareway Meat & Grocery is a proud sponsor of the 2021 Iowa State Dance Team Championships.

Fareway believes in supporting the places Iowans learn, work, live and play.

Congratulations to all the schools and student athletes in this year's championships.

By Musco Lighting, the sports lighting specialists, providing lighting systems for you, your project and your community.