Elkhorn Dance Team’s trip to nationals in Florida didn’t get off to a flying start.
The team was supposed to begin it’s journey to UDA Nationals in Orlando, Florida Jan. 30, however, the travel plans didn’t quite happen the way the team wanted them to. The dancers were excited to head to Florida and escape the Nebraska weather, but plane issues led to some unexpected turns.
“We are all really excited, and the plane trouble definitely left us all in disbelief because instead of getting to Orlando on Wednesday around noon, we are now getting there Thursday at three to four p.m.,” senior dancer Kate Heinzen said.
The plane that the dance team was originally supposed to take broke down and was taken out of service, leaving the team stuck at the airport without a flight. With no plane and not enough seats on a different one, the dance team had to split up. The team ended up spending the night in Miami rather than in Orlando.
When the team arrived in Miami, team members also experienced issues with their luggage, with many having their luggage lost in transit. The team took multiple flights during the day and while on most of their flights, they were able to have their luggage as a carry-on. The last flight told them that some of the luggage was too large, even though they had been with the same luggage and same airline throughout the entire day, which lead to some team members having to check bags. When the team stopped for the night the bags continued in transit to Orlando. The team said the lost bags contained practice equipment which then prevented them from practicing. The dance team plans on finally being able to fly to Orlando sometime today and then going straight to practice.
The team’s competition takes place this weekend.
