Valentine’s weekend turned out to be very sweet for the Emmaus High School Dance Team members.

Over the weekend of Feb. 14-16, the 23 dancers and their coach flew to Orlando, Fla., to compete in the National Dance Alliance’s competition. The team qualified for this level of competition by attending the NDA’s summer camp and demonstrating quality performance levels.

The team held numerous fundraising events throughout the year such as a car wash, golf tournament, bake sales, mums, candles, mugs, stuff the truck and a “Take the Stage” dance charity event to fund the estimated cost of $60,000.

Team members dedicate from four hours a week in the beginning to 20 hours a week practicing as they near the competition date.

Coach Jillian Jarsocrak, who performed with Temple’s Dance Team as well as being a finalist for the Philadelphia Eagles and 76ers cheerleader programs, described the commitment as similar to a part-time job.

All of the effort paid off because the team members performed so well they secured sixth place in the nation in hip-hop dance. In addition, the team was awarded a trophy for “Showmanship Performance” recognizing the team with the highest performance quality score.

The team has been competing with NDA for the past seven years and in 2022 had placed fifth in the nation. They are glad to be acknowledged as a national top 10 team again.

The young dancers described the experience of performing on the national stage as “exhilarating,” “really loud” and feeling “locked in” with intense focus. Watch the video of their performance and you can feel the energy created using hip-hop dance.

The team’s confidence in their performances has been elevated with these awards. Next year they are challenging themselves by competing with something new. They are hoping to compete in the “Team Performance” category, which implements various styles of dance. They performed this style at the NDA summer camp that made them eligible for the national competition. Team members appeared excited to be considering this type of dance for next year’s national stage.

Most of the team members shared they have been dancing since they were 2, 3 and 4 years old; but it is never too late to be part of a winning team. One of the dancers shared that her friend convinced her to try out with her in middle school so she started dancing at 13 years old.

This award-winning team includes 23 members. Three seniors will be graduated in June and all three are looking forward to dancing with club teams at the collegiate level.

Jarsocrak shared there is no limit to the number of dance team members.

“I consider the dance quality and if the individual is a good fit for the team,” Jarsocrak said.

“Some years we have 13 members, other years we have had 30. If I get 35 young ladies who can dance and work well together, then I will take 35.”

So, do you think you can dance? Tryouts for next year’s team will take place in May.