Submitted photo: The Marshall Academy of Dance takes a group photo after claiming a National Title for their dance, “Brass in Pockets,” at the National Dance Competition in Pensacola, Fla., July 2024. This was the studio’s first overall National Title award. Top row, left to right: Kaitlyn Rosenboom, Delaney Dieken, Halle Roos, Emily Rosenboom, Sophia Stemwedel, Addison Kainz and Breanna Thompson. Bottom row, left to right: Emily Soehl, Kylee Loyson, Ella Cole, Ava Winn and Lindsey Hart

GHENT – Smiles, laughs and hugs between families, coaches and dancers filled the room at the Marshall Academy of Dance’s season ending banquet in Ghent Wednesday.

Being invited to compete at nationals is a prestigious honor for any dance studio, according to dancers and coaches. It requires a season of consistent, top-notch performances and placing high at regional competitions. The Marshall team did just that, and danced at nationals in Pensacola Beach, Florida in early July. Participating every year since the academy opened in the summer of 2016, members of the Marshall Academy of Dance were crowned overall national champions for their dance “Brass in Pockets” for the first-time. Adding to the celebration, senior Halle Roos took home first overall for her solo “Flowers.”

“This is the first time we’ve taken the top award … It was really cool to see what a small town can do,” studio owner and coach Breanna Thompson said. “We were against the biggest cities in Florida, so for a tiny little Marshall studio to do so well, it’s really eye opening just how amazing the girls did.”

Taking the stage for a final time this season that took months of rehearsals to get to was a bittersweet moment for the dancers.

“Going on stage, the world just kind of goes by when we’re all together,” Roos said. “Once that music starts, it’s just like muscle memory, and you get to make eye contact with your friends during the dance too. That’s probably the most fun part, because you kind of cheer each other on and you can feel the energy throughout us.”

Ella Cole, Emily Soehl, Lindsey Hart and Sophia Stemwedel are all seniors on the team in addition to Roos. Other dancers a part of the winning group were Emily Rosenboom, Kaitlyn Rosenboom, Delaney Dieken, Kylee Loyson, Ava Winn and Addison Kainz.

“We’ve been dancing together for such a long time, that it was just kind of a weird feeling to hit the stage one last time,” Soehl said. “I also know that we all love that dance (Brass in Pockets). We’ve been working so hard on it all season.”

Hart and Stemwedel also stated that waiting backstage was nerve wracking and taking the stage was emotional, but they knew the team’s work ethic was going to serve them well.

As pressure builds up for the dancers before they walk into the spotlight, tension also gets heavier for coaches Thompson and Annie Deutz.

“I’m always a little nervous every time they go on stage, but we’ve been practicing so hard,” Thompson said. “I knew we were ready. So, I mean, I get a little nervous, but I’m confident in their abilities.”

The team qualified for nationals by being a top scorer at regionals in Omaha, Nebraska earlier this year.

“We see the dance a lot … We know the ins and outs,” Deutz said. “I think when I saw them on stage, I knew that was the best time they’ve ever done it. We were just really proud of them and we knew, like even whatever the outcome was, in our hearts, it was the best they could have done.”

The group was competing against other top studios from around the country, some with bigger groups, production sets and props. But, it was the Marshall Academy the judges claimed victorious.

“When we got the award, I mean … That was like chills, that was crazy,” Thompson said. “It was definitely a big boost, just to know that we can do so well at such a big competition. This is the hardest competition we’ve ever been to.”

With an already year-around season, the team enters a period of boot camp for three weeks before they head to nationals, where they practice for several hours everyday.

They initially learned the dance in the fall, but were able to reconstruct it more during the training period.

“Picking every piece apart and going over it before we go on stage a whole bunch of times and making sure we all remember all of the corrections,” Loyson said about finalizing the routine. “We just compromised and made sure we could make it the best we could.”

The Rosenboom sisters also commented that practices were long, but there would be more corrections every round to apply and the entire team put all their energy into the dance.

The coaches said they make sure to keep their dancer’s health at the forefront of their training throughout the year, to be able to pursue getting to the big stage.

“We (Thompson and Deutz) are very careful with our dancers,” Thompson said. “We know how hard to push them, but we also know when we need a rest break or a stretch break. We really take care of their bodies. That way, we avoid a lot of injuries as much as we can.”

Roos returned to Marshall with a national trophy of her own as well.

“Truly a dream come true, coming home as a senior solo 2024 national champion has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl,” Roos said on social media. “Many unforgettable memories, laughs and tears later, yet I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.”

As the seniors performed for the last time with their studio, the rest of the girls began to feel their impact before the last dance of the season.

“It was just a lot of mixed feelings, because being able to go on the stage one more time and dance as a team fully, and just give it the best that we can,” Loyson said. “It was just fun to do it one more time.”

Spirits were high as the girls walked onto the stage, with their hair up and dressed in black tops and bottoms with blazers for their performance.

“Like the moment we hit the stage, it was just a lot of energy,” Kainz said. “It was fun dancing with all the seniors one last time.”

Several of the girls said the winning number was their favorite dance they have done to date.

Dancers who have grown up in the studio and graduate onto their next journey is an emotionally touching experience for Thompson and Deutz as well.

“Seeing them from little girls, like growing up into adults now … Seeing how they have developed not even in dance, but just in life and seeing how respectful and grown up they get to be, I think it’s just really rewarding,” Deutz said. “Knowing that they’re going to leave being really good people.”

One theme was consistent between the entire team and what it means dancing with one another: family.

“It’s (dance) like my whole world … It’s taken up every ounce of any extra time I’ve ever had,” Cole said smiling. “I have connections with everybody on this team, it’s literally my family … It takes everything I have and I put all my effort and joy into it.”

Soehl mentioned how many studios are much larger in bigger cities, so it’s easy to connect with everyone on the team here and referred to Marshall Academy of Dance as home, and Roos said dance doesn’t have an offseason, so they grow quickly as a family.

“We’re there (at the studio) all the time, like seven days a week. So, we see each other every day and we’re basically forced to be friends,” Hart said as the rest of the group laughed. “It’s like this incredible bond forms and we just all love each other so much. It also adds on that we all love being there and love dancing.”

Although spending hours at the academy together throughout the week, the girls also spend time together outside of dance like going to the movies.

“We all grew up together, as everyone knows each other so well,” Stemwedel said. “I’m glad that we all had people we knew and could talk to.”

Each of the seniors have been dancing since they were little, and have been competitively dancing with the studio since they opened their doors.

The Marshall Academy of Dance welcomes dancers starting at one and a half years old, up through high school seniors, and offers several styles of classes. There is a mini team, junior team and national team. Registration is currently open for the 2024-25 season.

“It’s just amazing the talent that can come out of a small program,” Deutz said. “You don’t have to be in this big city with all this huge staff of people. You know, we just do it here.”