Majettes dancers get ready for state

The Majettes Dance Team at Minot High School is gearing up for a busy month.

Varsity Head Coach Sarah Halladay, along with Varsity Assistant Coach Chauncee Knittel and Junior Varsity Coach Emily Lindquist, are coaching 14 varsity dancers and six junior varsity dancers for upcoming competitions and performances in January.

This weekend, the team will be competing in Bismarck at the Bismarck Legacy competition.

The Majettes Home Show is set for Saturday, Jan. 20, at 4 p.m. at Magic City Campus. There will be baskets and 50/50 raffles.

"It’s a big fundraising event for us. It will be fun. Different Minot dance communities will be getting together and performing. It also prepares us for state. The home show is a big part of what prepares us for that. It’s our final run through before we go to state," Halladay said.

The North Dakota Association of Dance and Drill State Dance is in Minot on Friday-Saturday, Jan. 26-27, at the Minot State University Dome.

"We’re practicing a lot nonstop. We do lyrical and contemporary jazz, hip hop, pom and high kick. We’re one of the few teams that compete in all four categories," Halladay said.

Varsity dancers and seniors Kailey Teets, Madison Kleen, Carley Kersten, and Makenna Burckhard have been dancing with the Majettes all four years of their high school careers. They say their favorite part of being on the team is getting to spend time with their teammates and coaches.

"They push me to be my best every single day," Teets said.

"We get closer as a family every year. We’re like a bunch of sisters," Kersten said.

"The best part is building relationships and the bonds we have with our coaches and teammates," said Burckhard.