The Bellaire Belles Dance Team swept the stage with their performances at the Houston Coastal Sr. Dance Classic Competition on Feb. 18, receiving about 24 awards, including Best of the Best, Judges Awards, Best Overall and Best in Class. 

Junior and captain Alani Kao received the highest solo score of the day and celebrated with two trophies, a gold medal and a tiara.

“This was my first time placing first in solos,” Kao said. “I feel really good about it, and I love my little tiara.”

As a dance captain, Kao helped prepare the junior varsity team for their first competition. Junior varsity won bronze in Best Overall with pom as their highest-scoring routine.

“Being a captain is hard, but it is really fun seeing JV grow,” Kao said. “JV’s hard work paid off, and for the next competition, they can be sharper.”

Freshman and JV Belle Sherrie Luo got a solo part in the pom routine to showcase her scorpion. It was her first dance competition. 

“I was excited because we worked really hard and we had practiced for long hours to learn the dances. Now, we finally got to perform them,” Luo said. “I felt special getting a solo part because I got to show off what I know.”

In the varsity novelty dance based on “The Little Mermaid,” multiple dancers had the opportunity to get a solo part as the characters in the movie. The dance spotlighted Ariel, Prince Eric, Ursula, Flounder, Sebastian, Scuttle and the eels, Jetsam and Flotsam. 

Junior Alex Alleyne played Ariel in her first novelty performance after not competing for three years.

“I definitely was nervous because I haven’t felt that adrenaline since eighth grade,” Alleyne said. “Acting while dancing was really hard because I had to channel Ariel while focusing on my technique and remembering the number was difficult. I never had to be in costume and look like the character and act like the character, especially since Ariel has this innocence to her because she doesn’t know the real world; it was really challenging to show that while dancing.”

It was also senior and varsity Belle Asia Alexander’s first time competing and being on Belles. Alexander is also a member of the Cadets, a small hip-hop ensemble branch that placed runner-up in the Division I category. 

“I am kind of sad that this is my last competition season because I enjoy being around the Belles; we got to bond and have fun together, and it really made me regret not joining sooner,” Alexander said. “Some challenges I faced prior to the competition were definitely morning practice and joining Cadets late because everyone else had the dance but me, so I felt out of place.”

Dancers had to arrive ready to stretch and dance in the gym at 7:15 a.m. and stay after school if extra practice time was needed. Sophomore and varsity Belles Honor Corp member (contemporary ensemble branch) Allyson Nguyen said she likes morning practice because it gives her more free time after school. 

“It’s sometimes hard to wake up early in the morning, but it is worth it because I get to be with the Belles,” Nguyen said. “I kind of like it though because it is a good start to the day, and by first period I’m already awake.”

However, with the help of the practices,  the Belles were able to focus on any challenges like facials, stamina, costumes, formations and cleans.

“I think we did pretty good at the competition, but for the next competition, I could improve my acting and my technicality when it came to my jumps and turns,” Alleyne said. “Some challenges I faced before were my stamina while dancing because it was a lot to do the whole beginning of the number, do my solo part and also worry about getting to the lift on time. Another thing was my costume because I had to wear a wig and it was hard to dance full out because of the fear it would fall off.”

The Belles reflected on their scores sheets and spent a week cleaning the dances and working to fix all the judges’ comments. 

“For the next competition we just need to relax and count the music to do better,” Alexander said. “We were so tense and scared right before we went on, so that got us in our heads.”

The Belles compete at Showcase’s Houston Extravaganza on  Saturday, Feb. 25 at Langham Creek High.