Omaha City Wire

The College of Saint Mary dance team opens competition Wednesday for the 2022-2023 season.

The Flames will take on Concordia University in a dual meet at Concordia.

CSM Coach April Allen is excited to see her squad kick off the season with the dual meet before heading to several invitationals later this month and into February.

"We are hoping to see score improvements at every competition and receive feedback from officials that is consistent with the changes we make throughout the season."

After months of tough practices, the competition season is actually fairly short for competitive dance. The GPAC Championships are just six weeks away.

The Flames took eighth place in the GPAC Championships last year, ninth place in the NAIA Northwest Group Qualifier and 35th out of 52 teams in the NAIA.

Key losses from last year's squad were Allison Goetzinger, Karly Nothhorn (SR/Ralston, Neb.) and Marisa Sunderman. But back to lead the Flames this season are key returners in Claren Coalson (SO/Gretna, Neb.), Angela Valadez-Flores (JR/Omaha, Neb. ) and Elisabeth Weatherly (JR/Papillion, Neb.).

"I expect us to compete in the top half of the GPAC this season," Allen said. "Although we are lower in numbers than we anticipated at the beginning of the season, all of our student-athletes are strong dancers. Our choreography has diverse elements that showcase our team's talents."

Allen expects the team's turn sequence to be one of its strengths.

"I expect our team turn sequence to be the strongest we've had in several years," she said. "We are a few days out from our first competition and that skill section already looks stronger than it did towards the end of last season."

Adjusting to the competition season is one area of concern for Allen.

"The toughest area coming out of winter break will be stamina," she said. "Getting through the full routine and having the end of the dance be as strong as the beginning is something we continue to work on."

But Allen knows Wednesday's competition – and feedback from the judges – is just the beginning and she hopes the Flames are performing their best when it counts at the end of February.

Original source can be found here.