BG Dance Team – Shining Stars at State!

The Bishop Garrigan dance team wowed the crowd at the 2023 Iowa State Dance Championship on November 30, 2022, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. After strong performances, Bishop Garrigan took home first place trophies in Class 1 Pom and Class 1 Kick. Ella Schaaf won second place in Class 1 Solos out of 70 dancers. The team also earned the Academic Achievement Award for teams with a GPA of 3.5-4.0. Iowa hosts the largest state high school dance competition in the nation with 250+ high school teams and a total of more than 5,000 dancers performing more than 600 routines throughout the three-day competition. Congratulations!

It was a fun week! On Monday, the team performed their state routines at a Pep Rally at school. They left for State on Tuesday, stopping at a dance studio in Ankeny to practice one last time. The team went for their traditional dinner at Olive Garden and had fun together before going to bed early. Wednesday was the big day! They performed Pom at 9:18 am, Kick at 10:54 am and Ella did her solo at 2:51. Awards were at 8:30 pm. They spent their downtime watching other routines, cheering on Ella and hanging out as a team. So many memories were made!

The 2022-23 dance squad is made up of 10 dancers and three coaches, who all work hard every year to dance at halftimes and compete at State. The team also participates in various fundraisers and community events throughout the year. They learned their halftime routines this past summer at a NDA Dance Camp, and learned their state routines with private choreographers. Many thanks to our own Bishop Garrigan alumni choreographers, Rebecca (Molsberry) Marcolina (class of 2011) who choreographed the Kick routine, and Aimee (Dahlhauser) Keller (class of 2011) who choreographed the Pom routine. Rebecca and Aimee have a strong history of designing state winning routines for Bishop Garrigan!

Congratulations coaches and dancers! 

Coaches: Ashley Meyer, Katie Warrington, Ashley Frideres
Dancers: Emma Bacha, Avery Berte, Violet Bode, Rosanne Curtis-Ricke, Kyra Deike, Ava Kemna, Ellie Rosenmeyer, Ella Schaaf, Eva Snyder, Zoey Von Bank.

Coach Katie Warrington: "On cloud nine for this hard working, sweet, and SMART team!! Their ability to come together this season, put the team first and work their tails off was such a joy! They are such a lovely group of young ladies.”

Coach Ashley Meyer: “These beautiful young ladies left it all on the floor, danced with heart, and continued the Bishop Garrigan Dance tradition! It was a group effort - thank you to the many alumni that helped choreograph and clean our routines. I am so blessed to be able to coach the Bishop Garrigan Dance Team!"

Coach Ashley Frideres: “It has been almost 18 years since I've been on the drill team. As a new coach this year I have noticed that so much has changed, but one thing has not...the BGHS family, traditions and dance legacy that was built so many years ago.  It's a BIG deal to be a part of the ISDTA. We have some of the best judges from all over the country! Dance Girls - you are the kindest, hardest, smartest girls and I love you all like my own."