The Centralettes left Lake Central’s Fieldhouse on Feb. 21 with their reputation untarnished. They defended their reputation of being Regional champions for 20 consecutive years and became Regional champions for 21 years at the IHSDTA North Regional Dance Championship hosted at Lake Central High School.
“There’s a lot of stress and responsibility for keeping up the reputation of always winning, but it’s also something to be very proud of. It’s something that is motivation for always working harder,” Emma Hupp (12), varsity captain, said.
The varsity Centralettes achieved their Regional title with scores of 92.83 in Jazz and 88.63 in AAA Hip Hop.
“I feel like the energy was a little bit less than what we gave at [the Lake Central Dance Invitational], but it was definitely an overall strong performance and we were very pleased with the outcome,” Hupp said.
The JV Centralettes followed in varsity’s footsteps by claiming their 21st Regional title as well.
“I think we can all agree we did pretty well. We won first place in both Jazz and Hip Hop and we have been winning so far all season,” Lauren Wisniewski (9), JV Centralette, said.
Although Senior Night took place on Feb. 14 at the Lake Central Dance Invitational, the Regional performances marked the last time the senior members of the team would perform on their home floor.
“[Performing] was definitely a little emotional. I feel like I was the most emotional of all of the seniors and so that kind of kept me from going over the edge because everyone else was kind of reserved and stoic. More so happy than sad just to know that this is moving on to another chapter of my life and everything,” Hupp said.
Varsity’s next dance destination will be Orlando, Fla., for the NDA National Dance Championship. Both varsity and JV’s seasons will conclude at New Castle High School for the State Championship.
“We are going to state and hopefully we’ll get our 21st consecutive state title as well,” Wisniewski said.
