This weekend on Sunday October 16th, seven E’Gals from the Totino-Grace Dance Team performed at Miss Dance Team Minnesota. The performers were senior captains Allie Wollman and Julia Johnston, junior Megan Foht, sophomores Paige Pettijohn, Grace Kroells and Claire Page and Olivia Gullickson.

Allie Wollman danced a solo to the song “Stone Cold” by Demi Lovato and loved getting to perform in front of her friends and family. If she were to go back and have more preparation time she “would take more time to practice my ‘modeling’ portion.” The most difficult for Allie was “getting ready for the interview and not knowing what question you would be asked.”

Julia Johnston danced a solo to the song “Sweet Chariot.” Julia said, “The best part of the experience was being able to perform a solo, the last chance I have for my coaches, friends and family that came to watch.” If she was able to go back and redo the day she would prepare better for her modeling skills across the floor. The most difficult part of the process for Johnston was knowing that this would be her last time dancing a solo.

Megan Foht performed a solo to “My Blood” by Ellie Goulding. The best part of her overall experience of Miss Dance Team was meeting the other soloists and just getting to have the opportunity to perform. If she could go back she would have started to prepare earlier. Megan’s fear was “Rushing, and fearing I forgot something.” You will see Megan back at Miss Dance Team next year!

Sophomore Grace Kroells danced both a solo and a trio. She danced her solo to “Slow and Steady” by Sleeping at Last. For Grace, the best part of the experience was “getting to perform my solo in front of the crowd and being with my friends all day.” If Grace could go back she would “be a little more prepared- I bought my solo costume 3 days before the competition! The biggest difficulty the day of was shaking off the nerves of dancing by myself and concentrating on what I knew I was capable of.”

Claire Page danced a solo and a trio. She danced to “It’s What You Don’t Do”. For Claire, the best part was “getting to dance and experiencing it with my best friends.” If she did this again, she would pay more attention and meet other girls performing from different teams. The biggest difficulty was not getting a certain move in her dance every time.

Olivia Gullickson performed a solo to “100x” by Tegan and Sara. Olivia says, “The best part was watching my teammates doing their dances perfectly after all the hard work they had put into them.” If Olivia could go back she would “try to not be as nervous or worry about anything and just be excited and happy to dance!” The hardest part for Olivia was getting over her nerves before going on stage. Olivia said she would for sure do it again next year!

Paige Pettijohn danced both a solo and a trio. Her solo was to “If I Had a Boat” and the trio to “Song to Sing.” The best part of her experience was performing and watching her other teammates perform. She wouldn’t do anything different if she could go back. Paige said, “The biggest difficulty was not getting nervous watching others who were really good.” Paige also said that she would “for sure do it next year.”