Alma, Van Buren Dance Way To Titles

Two River Valley dance teams made their presence known at the first-ever Arkansas Activities Association sanctioned dance competition. Van Buren captured the 7A state title while Alma was runner-up in the 5A. The 7A competition was close as runner-up Bryant and Van Buren actually tied. The competition consists of four categories—jazz, kick, hip hop and pom—with the top three scores counting toward the results. To break the deadlock, the judges went back to the technical marks in the three events that were scored. "It is amazing, and there is no way to explain," Breanna Swezey, one of the Pointerette dancers said. "I figured it would be between us, Bryant and (Springdale) Har-Ber." Van Buren coach Mari Newby had a feeling when Bryant was announced as the runner-up that her team won. Her girls practice 10-15 hours a week and believed they had a chance to win. "It's absolutely thrilling," Newby said. "It was such a tight competition that I never thought we had it wrapped up." Before the AAA sanctioned the event, the dance teams competed in the Arkansas Dance Team competition. Malia Drinkwitz started the program four years ago, and three years ago, Alma placed 10th. Two years ago, the Airedalettes were third. Besides being runner-up, another thrill for Alma was beating Greenwood. "I was absolutely thrilled," she said. "I was hoping for top three and really not expecting runner-up because we have never placed that high." Drinkwitz believes the key for Alma's success was its versatility. While pom is usually the Airedalettes' best routine, they are consistent in the other categories. Another plus is being in existence for four years. This is the first year the sophomores have had experience. "That made a huge difference," she said. "It's nice to see the product of our hard work for the last three years paying off." Because her girls put in an amazing amount of practice time, Drinkwitz is hoping the achievement will help people see how much is involved to compete in the sport. During the summer, her girls practice four hours a day, four days a week. During the school year, they practice two to three days a week with two of those practices lasting four hours. And, she has three girls who are volleyball players so imagine the amount of time spent practicing both sports. "They practice volleyball and then come to dance practice," Drinkwitz said. "I don't think anyone understands the amount of time it takes. Becoming a sport will hopefully give us more credit."