A group of passionately dancing girls run through their routine with fluid motions and smiles across their faces, dancing their hearts out to loud pulsing music in the Cove. All year long, the Valkyries have been preparing for their many performances and competitions, their final performance being the Spring Show held on May 20.

The girls have been regularly practicing to polish the routines they have worked on all year in order to ensure a successful show. The majority of their routines have already been performed at previous competitions, but they continue to practice them twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. During the Spring Show, a few dance teams from other schools, including Homestead, came in to perform with the Valks. Every officer on the team also performed a solo dance of their own and three seniors MCed the event.

Throughout the year, the Valks have had multiple shows in which they performed well and earned trophies at several competitions across the country. This year, the Valks attended five tournaments, four of which were regional and one of which was the Contest of Champions national tournament in Florida. At the Contest of Champions, they placed second in the kick division and third in the lyrical division, an impressive achievement for the team since it was their first time at a national tournament.

The girls have not only succeeded in competitions this season, but have also developed close bonds and friendships with each other. A lot of hours and commitment go into being a Valkyrie and members of the team develop character, patience and leadership skills through their many activities, including summer camp and holiday parties. One of the unique activities they do during summer camp is ‘choreo-to-go’, during which the officers take time to learn a new dance from a successful professional dancer and apply the dance choreography they learned there to create a new dance for the team to try out next year. Their multiple socials and events also help them grow closer as a team off the dance floor.

“My experience as a Valk has been really fun — it’s had a huge impact on my high school life so far,” said sophomore Claire Peterson, an officer of the team next year. “I’ve been able to create bonds and friendships while dancing and developing. It’s definitely shaped skills in me like leadership, citizenship and teamwork.”