On Feb. 11 and Feb. 18, the Belles travelled to the Marching Auxiliaries (MA) HISD competition and the Showtime Texas Pride Competition. At the MA competition they competed against local HISD teams such as their rivals the Lamar Rangerettes and the Westside Inertia Dance Team. At the Showtime Competition they competed against regional high school drill teams, along with elite private studios in one of the solo award competitions. Junior Tarini Kumar, co-leader with Shandalyn Lewis of the HONOR CORPS division of Belles, expressed how the competition was different from previous years.

“We had much less time to prepare than we usually do,” Kumar said. “Everything was really rushed.”

In the first MA HISD competition, Belles placed in every dance and solo entered and won first place in many categories. They also won numerous technique awards for outstanding technique and High Point distinction for having the best dance in their category. In addition, the esteemed Super Sweepstakes distinction is awarded to teams that entered more than 3 dances and did an outstanding job in all three. A more prestigious award, the Champion’s Circle, was awarded at the Showtime Texas Pride competition for the most elite teams amongst the Super Sweepstakes winners. Kumar shared how she felt when she found out the Honor Corps had won 1^st place at Showtime.

“We didn’t even place at that competition last year, so that was really exciting,” Kumar said. “I was super excited that we won.”

The total awards were as follows:

Awards MA HISD Competition

• Manon Giot, Senior 15-16 Solo Winner
• Mikayla Marcum, 1^st Runner Up Senior 17-18 Solo
• Jamaal Lockings, Senior 17-18 Solo Winner
• Ioana Nechiti & Leigh Vo, 1^st Runner Up Senior 15-16 Duet
• Jamaal Lockings and Mikayla Marcum, Winner Senior 17-18 Duet
• Belles Cadets (Hip Hop Team), Winner 15-16 Small Ensemble
• Belles Honor Corps (Advanced Varsity Team), 1^st Runner Up Senior 15-16 Large Ensemble
• Officers Super Sweepstakes with Technique Awards in Novelty, Jazz, and Contemporary
• Belles JV Super Sweepstakes with Technique Award in Pom and Jazz and High Point Award in Pom, Jazz, and Kick
• Belles Varsity Super Sweepstakes with Technique Award in Jazz, Pom, and Contemporary and
  High Point in Jazz and Contemporary
• Bellaire JV, Best in Class for JV teams

Showtime International Texas Pride Competition

• High School Overall Champion (Including not only public high school dancers but elite, trained private studio dancers) Jamaal Lockings
• Solo Scholarship Winner, Jamaal Lockings
• High School Runner-up, Mikayla Marcum
• High School Duet Runner-ups, Jamaal Lockings and Mikayla Marcum
• Medium Ensemble Winner, Belles Honor Corps
• Small Ensemble Winner, Cadets
• Sweepstakes and Judges Award, Belles JV
• Sweepstakes and Judges Award, Belles Varsity
• Best in Category Medium High School Jazz Runner-up, Officers
• Best in Category Medium High School Novelty, Officers
• Best in Category Medium High School Contemporary Runner-up, Officers
• Junior Varsity Jazz Winner
• Junior Varsity Kick Winner
• Junior Varsity Pom Runner-up
• Medium High School Kick Winner, Belles Varsity
• Medium High School Pom Winner, Belles Varsity
• Medium High School Contemporary Winner, Belles Varsity
• Champion Circle Team, Belles JV
• Champion Circle Team, Belles Varsity Courtesy of Bellaire Belles