Recently the McKinney Boyd High School Bailadoras drill team travelled to Galveston to compete at the Showtime Nationals Dance Competition. After a two day contest, facing challenging competition, the Bailadoras not only came away as national champions, but for the first time in the history of the organization, they swept the competition and brought home the title of Overall National Grand Champions for a medium high school team! 

The Bailadoras won 1st place with their team contemporary, prop, and kick routines, and 2nd place with their pom routine. The Bailadora Elite Team won 1st place with their jazz, contemporary, and hip-hop routines. The Bailadora officers won 1st place with their contemporary, lyrical, and open routines, and 3rd place with their hip-hop.

In addition to their officer and team dances, many of the girls competed in duets, ensembles, and solos. The senior dancers won the large ensemble competition. The line officer quartet of Sarah Stanley, Meg Anderson, Shelby Redondo, and Lauren Casey placed 2^nd overall in the small ensemble category. Lauren Casey also competed in the 10^th grade solo competition and placed 6^th out of 35 dancers. There were 58 competitors in the senior solo division. Two Bailadoras placed in the top 6: Briana Milton placed 4^th and Jacqueline Parson placed 5^th.

These young women represented not only McKinney Boyd High School, but also the City of McKinney, very well. Over the two days, the judges were so impressed by the performances of this talented group, they chose to award the Bailadoras a special “Applause Award” for precision demonstrated consistently throughout the competition.

The Bailadoras were founded nine years ago. Out of those nine years, they have been crowned national champions three times: 2010, 2012, and 2015. This success demonstrates not only the team’s talent, but the time, dedication, and hardwork put forth by these young ladies. Under the leadership of Mrs. Caris Dunn, the director, and Mrs. Hannah Gassett, the assistant director, the Bailadoras have become a top performing arts program that is recognized across the state and nationally.

The Bailadoras will be performing their annual spring show on May 1-2, 2015, at 7 pm in the McKinney Boyd High School auditorium. Come see the performances that won them the title of Overall National Grand Champions. You don’t want to miss it!