On Jan. 8, the New Trier High School Dance Team (NTDT) won second place at the Central Suburban League (CSL) competition, marking one of the team’s best performances in recent years. That success continued at sectionals on Jan. 24, where the team placed fourth and qualified for the IHSA State Championship.

The team’s sectional win came despite what the dancers described as the most competitive group of teams they have faced in the last four years they have qualified for state. Even with the high level of competition, NTDT secured its place at state, which will take place Jan. 30 and Jan. 31.

The CSL competition, also held annually, includes schools within the Central Suburban League, such as Evanston High School, Highland Park High School, Vernon Hills High School, Maine West High School and others, with twelve total schools participating this year. Unlike other competitions, this meet features division teams of different sizes, specifically 2A and 3A, competing together, while typical competitions only include teams from the same division.

Throughout their season, NTDT performed the same routine at every competition, an energetic dance set to “Baby I’m a Star” by Prince. Complete with star-studded costumes made by Head Coach Courtney Kafkis, the dance involved complex choreography with lifts and head-springs.

“I honestly love the entire dance,” Kafkis said. “It’s one of my favorites we’ve ever done.”

The dancers spent months preparing this choreography. Much of it was learned over the summer, during which the dancers practiced and recorded videos to review later. Once the team revisited the choreography at the end of October, the dancers focused on repeatedly refining the choreography.

“For any competition, we always warm up, talk about corrections from the day before, and go into cleaning [up] specific parts,” senior captain Gabby Guryan said. “Then we work on running through to make sure everyone’s doing the exact same motion and placement.”

As the team enters the final stretch of the season, this time has proved to be the most demanding for many of the dancers. The dancers must balance long practices with academic responsibilities, making time management and mental focus especially important.

“Courtney always says to ‘leave it at the door,’” Karabas said. “Whatever stress you have coming into practice should be left behind, and that way we can stay in the right mindset.”

Kafkis attributes this rehearsal approach to the team’s strong focus and clean performances. In addition to the routine’s several tricks, added to boost its difficulty score, the dancers felt more confident.

“I think the energy was just there. I think they were super connected,” Kafkis said.

For NTDT, the team’s strong performance and high score serves as further motivation for the upcoming season, raising its standards for future competitions.

“Initially getting that high of a score motivated us for the next competition,” senior captain Ellery Smith said.

As the team prepares for state, the dancers hope to build on their success, finishing the season strong. While Kafkis is proud of the girls’ performance, she’s most proud of their dedication to the craft, as the team consistently demonstrates a strong work ethic and sense of responsibility.

“I’m always really proud of [the NTDT dancers],” Kafkis said. “The girls know what a commitment that it is, so they always give 110%. I couldn’t really ask for anything more.”