The Elkhorn Dance Team competed in the Florida UDA National Dance Team Competition on February 5th, 2023. They brought home the title of fourth in the nation for their devils vs. angels themed pom routine for the first time in school history. They also took home first place in the state for their pom routine and runner-up for their jazz routine for the first time in 40 years.
“It’s crazy; if you had told me the week before that we are ranked fourth in the country, I would have thought you were crazy. It’s a surreal feeling,” junior Paulina Fomicheva said.
It was not an easy road to the title that made Elkhorn High School history. The team invested hours of their time throughout the 10 months they leading up to the competition season. Due to the many hours spent together, the team formed an unbreakable bond during team outings, practice, and competitions.
“The team atmosphere is so supportive; we became family,” Fomicheva said. “We just dance as one person and support and encourage each other to be better than we were before.”
Coaches, Becca Schmucker and Beth Gilbert, encouraged the dancers to be the best they can be. Like any coach, they want the most for their players and do everything they can to help the dancers improve their performances.
“Our coaches were tough in practice, but in the end, they were very encouraging and ensured we tried our best,” sophomore Sophia Anderson said.
While competing, their mindset focused on being the most excellent and most optimistic version of themselves and beating their records.
“We just focused on Elkhorn High School and us. We focused on competing with ourselves, not comparing ourselves to others and focusing on getting better with each performance,” Fomicheva said.
The 2022/2023 Elkhorn Dance Team made school history as the highest-performing team on the school record.
“It’s cool to be ranked with teams that we’ve looked up to for so long. It’s just amazing,” junior Elise Kosak said.

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