The Silver Wings won the Grand Champion title at the West Coast Elite Dance  (WCED) competition held on Feb. 25 at John Paul II high school in Plano.

“It was a small competition,” director Jen Morrow said. “[WCE is] a very new company. This was their second year holding the competition, so it’s still growing. Our biggest competitor was Allen [high school]. They’re a big team [and] a big school, so knowing that we beat them and it was a good feeling. We beat them in every category.”

The competition also had other schools from the region like John Paul II and Marcus. Out of all the teams that competed, Hebron had the overall best score, giving them the Grand Champion title.

“We’ve had a rivalry against [Marcus] drill team wise, and we knew they were going to be there,” first lieutenant and junior Katia Ramirez said. “That made us uneasy because we have a past where they beat us, or we beat them. Allen is also a really good drill team; they’re big and they have really talented dancers. I think the thing that set us apart was our artistry and our cleanliness, [which] was really good compared to Allen and Marcus.”

Silver Wings started their practice for this competition this past summer. They practiced two hours each day starting at 7 a.m.

“[The dancers] had to audition in order to get into the elite team,” Morrow said. “They learned their dance before school started. It was in the middle of football season [when] they learned it all. Simultaneously we’re having to work on our pep-rally routines and football routines here. But as soon as that ended, our main focus was to put those pieces together.”

At the WCED competition, the Silver Wings performed team dances, elite group dances, solos, duets, and ensembles — over 20 dances in all.

“[The directors are] not fluffy at all,” Ramirez said. “By that I mean they’re not nice about everything. If we’re not doing well they’re not going to tell us we’re doing well. If we do bad, especially our head director, she will scream at us like ‘you guys can do better.’ But I think them being hard on us, makes us better. If they just told us that we were good all the time, then we wouldn’t work hard.”

The Silver Wings prepared by polishing their dances through repetition.
“I think everyone on the team is hard working and that’s what makes us special,” captain and senior Taylor Wilson said. “Everyone’s [here] for all the same reason. That’s what makes us show out at competitions. You can actually feel the passion that each and every individual brings. That’s what makes us the Silver Wings everyone knows.”