The Liberty Belles dance team has been working hard this competition season, going to as many competitions and preparing as much as possible before the Universal Dance Association (UDA) Nationals.

The Belles competed at Lindbergh and had great results, placing first in jazz and second in pom.

The Belles also competed at Battle High School in Columbia and placed first in jazz, second in pom and first in Game Day.

They have their St. Charles competition Saturday, Jan. 26, where they hope to get similar results before UDA nationals which takes place Feb. 1-3.

“I’m really excited for nationals and I’m really proud of the team and the constant work that everyone puts in every day. Nationals is always a really fun time because I get to do the thing I love and also go on a little trip with some of my best friends,” senior Megan Maetten said.

Throughout the year, the team practices four days a week, for about 2 and 1/2 hours each day. However, when it gets a little closer to nationals, they can practice up to three hours a day.

Every day at practice the team conditions, running up and down the stairs and then at the end they continuously run their dances over and over again, fixing any minor errors and perfecting the dance the best that they can.

“Practice is a lot work but it’s worth it once you see the results at the competition. Without it I don’t think we would do as good,” junior Delaney Englehardt said.

The JV team has also done really well this season. At the Lindbergh competition, they placed first in jazz, first in pom and second in jazz.

At Battle, they placed second in both pom and jazz.

They also will compete at St. Charles and Farmington, while the varsity team is in Florida competing at Nationals.

“I think that we have really risen to the occasion this year. We put a lot of work into our dances and have improved over the season. The underclassmen on the team are always willing to learn to get better,” junior Katie May said.

Both teams plan to practice all week and fix judges corrections from previous competitions.

The Belles hard work and dedication definitely has shown throughout the year and both teams hope they can continue to grow and improve.