The Bob Jones Patriettes’ dance year is coming to an end after an amazing football season, basketball season, and state championship.

The dance team started off their season with 12 football games, sparkly costumes, and stadium lights! This was a favorite for most dancers on the team. Erin Neal, a sophomore, said, “I like football because of the live music. It makes it much more exciting, and I love performing in front of a big crowd. I love the style of dancing with it too, like kickline dancing.” Nolen Gunner, a junior, also loved the football season, especially the bus rides to the football games.

The second part of their season is full of basketball games and a few competitions. They performed their hip-hop dance, jazz dance, and pom dance. They perform at the boy and girls varsity basketball games.  

Recently, the Patriettes attended the UDA Magic City Dance Championship at Spain Park High School. They competed for state titles in their pom, jazz, and hip-hop dances. They ended up receiving second in pom, third in jazz, and fourth in hip-hop.

The girls did very well at the competition, but some of them believed that they could have done better.  Gunner said, “I think we could have worked out more to build stamina.” Neal also commented, “I think we could have practiced more and pushed ourselves a little harder.” Neal also said, “The competition was super hard, especially against Hendersonville and John Carroll. They are always super good.” Overall, the girls had a great time and enjoyed the experience!

Anna  O’Donell, one of the senior captains, has been on the dance team for four years. She loved getting to be a captain and being a leader. She said, “Something that has made me grow as a leader was trying to find ways to help everyone if they couldn’t figure something out because everyone learns differently.”

The dance team has only one competition left on February 17th and performed their last basketball game this past week, closing out the season. Everyone is really sad that the season is ending, but next year will be another amazing year!