Fort Lauderdale High School’s dance team, Blue Royals, won second place in their first competition at Universal Dance Association (UDA) in Orlando on January 16.  Julie Sutera (12), Nicole Miller (11), Chloe Bynoe (11), Alivia Ross (11), Gabrielle Cunningham (9), Nakada Lewis (9), and Marianna Wright (9) competed in the intermediate hip-hop division.

Blue Royals was created approximately 5 years ago; however, they never got the chance to compete and took it with determination.

“The training was intense,” said Blue Royals captain Jolie Sutera. “Since there were significantly less girls, we had more room to focus on ourselves individually. It was different from pep rally practice because we had to clean constantly, make sure our moves were in sync, and our technique was perfect.”

This training paid off as the girls’ hip-hop dance to Missy Elliot’s “Lose Control” placed them second against six other high schools. The team was only about three points from first place.

“We had a great time. I’m super super proud of my dancers. They put in a lot of hard work and I think it showed through their win,” Ms. Parisi, the dance coach, commented. The team celebrated their win the next day at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.

“As a parting note, the FLHS Dance team is never finished and we will still be doing performances having a lot in the works,” said Sutera. “We are also planning on holding spring auditions for girls who may have missed their chance in the fall (dates are to be determined). We would love to see new faces on our team to help our family grow bigger.”

Congratulations to Blue Royals and thank you for making FLHS proud! To learn more about Blue Royals or how to join, please contact Ms. Parisi or visit their Instagram @flhsdance.