The Eagle Lightning Dance Team made their first debut in the Thunder Stadium at Eagle High during the home varsity football game. The girls performed after the first quarter and during half time, entertaining the crowd and motivating Eagle High’s school spirit.
They’ve been training rigorously, starting with their summer camp where their tryouts took place. During the camp they learned their sideline dance routines and set the pace for the rest of the season. They practice Mondays and Wednesdays at 5:45 am to 7:15 am before school and they’ll occasionally have extra practices on Saturdays, which typically last four hours. Their training does not go unnoticed in their performances.
The team is successful and has many achievements including the titles: 6x 5A Overall State Dance Champions, 6x Dance State 2025, 6A Military State 2025, USA National Military Champs 2025 and the US National Kick Champ 2023.
“We’ve flown to Anaheim, California for Nationals,” said senior Abbigail Ship. To celebrate being national champions, they went to Disneyland as a team. The dance team is interwoven, as they focus on their team harmony.
The dance team has a unique form of leadership as well.
“We have four captains, there is [senior] Head Captain Alexa [Shanahan], and then the Co-captains are [senior] Brielle [Dahlgren] and [junior] Brooke [Norris],” said senior captain Veronica Eliason. Eliason emphasizes the amount of work and dedication she puts into her team and explains certain parts of leadership that don’t get much recognition.
“Another part of leadership is the social director which is [senior] Hailee [Simpson] and the person in charge of wardrobe is [junior] Memselle Taylor,” said senior Captain Veronica Eliason. The dance team strives to maintain a great team culture as well.
“Our girls all have great attitudes, and they are working really hard,” said Eliason.
The Eagle Lightning Dance Team has come back strong for this next school year. Their debut at the Thunder Stadium was a showcase of their efforts and energized the Eagle community, filling them with school spirit. The team represents the thunder they try to bring to every performance.
