Dance: Bombers dance team takes fifth in jazz at state

MINNEAPOLIS - Cannon Falls head dance team coach Madi Salisbury said the Bombers’ jazz routine allows the team to relax and have fun without the pressure that comes with being perennial state champions in the high kick division.

It certainly showed as Cannon Falls finished fifth Friday in the Class A jazz dance team state tournament at the Target Center.

“That’s the best Cannon Falls has ever done,” Salisbury said of the Bombers’ finals score. “The kids gave it their all. They had so much fun.”

Cannon Falls was in fifth place after preliminary competition and received better scores in the final despite placing fifth.

Last season, Cannon Falls took fourth in the jazz competition.

Aitkin won the state title to snap Duluth Marshall’s five-year streak as state jazz dance champions. Duluth Marshall took second place.

Salisbury said the judges scored the Bombers’ routine all over the board, with two judges ranking Cannon Falls as the second-best team and another judge having the Bombers in sixth place.

“Our style was different,” Salisbury said. “Some liked it and some maybe didn’t … the kids had a blast and that’s all we ask for.”

Senior captains Tatum Plonsky and Jana Lundell were voted to the Class A All-Tournament Team.

Lundell, a member of two state high kick championship teams, said Friday was the least nervous she’s felt because of overwhelming excitement while senior captain Amanda Anderson, who was competing in her third dance team state tournament, still admitted to a little anxiousness. Cannon Falls’ experience in state helps but state competition still provides the biggest stage.

“State just seems like the real deal,” Anderson said. “You never get a bigger crowd than state. It’s ten times bigger than any other competition.”

The Bombers didn’t medal but went home feeling proud of how they competed.

“I think it’s the best I’ve done,” senior captain Jackie Qualle said. “It’s bittersweet. It was everything I could have expected.”

Now, Cannon Falls needs to refocus and prepare for defending its state title in high kick. Salisbury said the jazz competition is the really fun day for Cannon Falls and the girls are anxious to compete about high kick. The pressure to succeed is still there but the Bombers will be ready to switch gears and focus, assistant coach Jamie Krinke said.

“It’s never handed to you,” Plonsky said. “We have to work so hard … but if you have fun out on the floor, it’s going to be a good performance.”

High kick competition begins today at noon.

Z-M fails to qualify for finals

Zumbrota-Mazeppa also competed in the state jazz dance tournament but the Cougars did not qualify for the finals.

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