The 40 teams that qualified for this year’s state basketball tournament emerged after many months of practice, but another championship-caliber team will perform Friday and Saturday after just a few hours of practice: the 2018 All-Iowa Honor Dance Team, and three Perry High School Pulse dancers have been chosen to perform on the honor team.
The three Perry students — seniors Ciera Bronnenberg and Star Love and junior Delaney Eiteman — were selected from more than 500 dancers who auditioned last August. This is the second year for Bronnenberg and Love to make the squad and the first year for Eiteman to be honored.
All dance teams represented are members of the Iowa State Dance Team Association, and the dancers were chosen based on ability, attitude, dedication and leadership qualities.
Auditions were held last fall at Ames Community Schools. After only a few hours of practice, the students put on the annual show, which is nationally recognized as one of the finest of its kind and has become a tradition at the Girls’ State Basketball Tournament.
Grand View University serves as the host for the Thursday and Friday rehearsals.
The pregame performance will include 50 dancers performing a patriotic salute. Lois Turnage of Pleasantville is the choreographer. The national anthem will be sung by the Hope Lutheran Church Quintet from West Des Moines.
The halftime show will take place during the 3A championship game Saturday and will involve a group of 224 dancers representing 88 Iowa high schools. The IGHSAU salutes, for the 36th consecutive year, Kathy Enyart and the All-Iowa Honor Dance Team.
Coverage of the pregame and halftime performances can be viewed on Iowa Public Television/Public Broadcasting Service stations.
