Center Grove dancers win solo state titles, team heads to nationals

For the first time since 2020 and only the second time in school history, the Center Grove High School varsity dance team will compete for a national championship. Students from the high school and middle school teams also won individual accolades at a recent state competition.

The Center Grove High School dance team flew to Orlando, Florida Wednesday to take on squads from across the United States at the National Dance Alliance, or NDA National Championship. The team will perform a medley that combines sections of kick dancing, a pom routine and a game day routine. The team qualified for the contest last summer when it excelled in NDA camp at Ball State University, Coach Hannah Sanders said.

Despite qualifying for the national competition just as the season began, the Center Grove High School team continued performing in statewide competitions as part of the Indiana High School Dance Team Association, or IHSDTA, along with NDA and Universal Dance Association competitions in Kentucky, Sanders said.

“We have different contests along the way that serve as benchmarks to help us stay motivated and keep working going into the biggest competition of the season,” she said. “We do expect to keep up with other teams. There are some schools we see in the state conference we keep up with well, and we expect to do the same at nationals.”

Some of those Indiana schools include Avon High School, Lake Central High School, Crown Point High School, Mitchell High School and Forest Park High School. The top 10 dance teams in the pom, kick dance and game day categories after the Friday and Saturday morning performances will move on to the finals of the competition, with a chance to claim national glory for their school Saturday night.

Throughout the year, Sanders has seen the most improvement in the kick dance, a dance they’re taking on this season for the first time.

“It’s very physically demanding, and when we first got the choreography in early September, they got too exhausted and their legs gave out on them. Now, they’re tired, but they make it through with a lot more ease. Their strength and stamina has grown exponentially,” Sanders said. “They’re all great dancers and a good group of self-motivated kids.”

The national competition will help give students vital experience as they continue to advance in the world of dance.

“I think it will be really rewarding to see the team on a national level. Sometimes it gets mundane if it’s just with the Indiana teams,” Sanders said. “For the dancers, it will expose them to see what to expect in the country if they dance in college, and they’ll also bond as a team.”

The competition will be a chance for the students to represent their school on a national stage, said Emily Rich, a sophomore who will be competing in the NDA National Championship for the first time.

“Not many sports teams get to represent Center Grove at a national competition, so it’s a big deal. It helps the Center Grove dance team get noticed and gain recognition from not only the school but other teams around the country,” Rich said. “I hope to gain experience out of this and bond with my team.”

Individual Accolades

Students in both the Center Grove Middle School combined team and the Center Grove High School team also claimed top individual spots last weekend at the IHSDTA solo and ensemble state dance competition. Rich placed first among high school students and Middle School North eighth grader Kendal Vondielingen finished first in the state among middle schoolers.

For Vondielingen, the state title was the manifestation of a goal she had since the beginning of the season, when former Indianapolis Colts cheerleader Katie James helped her choreograph her routine, set to contemporary jazz, said Cortni Nourie, her coach.

“When she finished (the choreography), Kendal looked at us and said ‘I have to win state this year,’” Nourie said. “That was her goal and so it was very high pressure throughout the season on the coaches to make sure she could reach that goal.”

The daughter of a cheerleader, Vondielingen has been dancing since she was two years old.

Along with the more than 30 hours she spent in school each week, Vondielingin spent more than 20 hours a week practicing, tacking on time at Indianapolis studio The Dance Refinery to the Friday evenings she spent with the team. Although she was often exhausted, she had one goal in mind: finishing middle school on top of the state.

“I feel like my dedication was a huge part of it. From the beginning, I wanted it and danced like it was my last time. I wanted it so bad and gave it everything I had,” Vondielingen said. “As soon as I won and saw (Nourie), I broke down in tears. I was so happy.”

Rich, who has been dancing for 13 years, claimed the State Champion title for Junior Solo after a dance performance to “Favorite Crime,” a song by Olivia Rodrigo.

“I was competing against a lot of talented athletes, which was obviously very intimidating. I think what set me apart was my attention to detail and my performance quality,” Rich said. “Things just like projecting and using my face so the judges understand the story I’m telling, attention to technique, like pointing my feet and straightening my legs and things like that. I knew what I had to do to make it to finals and to win.”

Despite having self-doubt at the beginning of the season, she was able to build her confidence as her routine improved.

“I think around January, I started to realize I can compete with people who are really talented and beat me multiple times prior,” Rich said. “I think the week of state, it set in that I have a shot of making top six. I didn’t realize I could win it until I went into my performance in the finals. I went into the finals in second place by 0.2. I knew what I had to do to win and went out there and gave it 110%.”

Rich has been able to take the feedback she’s gotten to heart and grow from it, Sanders said.

“She takes it to heart and is one of the hardest workers on the team,” she said. “She’s grown in all her abilities. Her claim to fame is her turn, and she’s won multiple competitions and at NDA dance camp at Ball State, they have a Top Gun competition with every dancer in attendance. She won at the camp and was able to use that skill with her turns and growth in other aspects and put it together into the state routine.”

With the state title, she’s shown herself what her dedication to dance can accomplish, Rich said.

“It shows hard work can really take you anywhere,” Rich said. “I had a lot of doubts at the beginning of the season and between where I was at the beginning of the season and winning state, I had such a change in character, confidence and skill.”

To watch the NDA National Championship, visit tv.varsity.com Friday and Saturday.