SIDNEY, NE — In a season full of uncertainty, the Sidney Danz Team’s moment is just about here.

"I think for one, we were kind of worried they weren't going to do a state competition because we weren't sure how they were going to manage everything," coach Mariah Mata said.

The group heads to Grand Island next week to compete for state championships. After a fourth-place finish in kick and earning runner-up in hip-hop a year ago, the goal is to bring home some hardware in 2021. The Sidney Danz Team has good momentum heading into state this year. They're coming off a win at a competition in Lexington.

"I feel really good," senior Elly Weimer said. "I'm really excited, especially with this being my last year. I think we're pretty good as to where we're sitting for state. I think we have a good chance of winning or being top two in both of our categories."

Wednesday evening, the team showed off both dances in a state preview for family and friends. The performances in Grand Island will be the culmination of months of hard work in a season that could have ended at any moment.

"We're just grateful we even got a season," senior Emma Mortensen said. "With COVID happening, we weren't even sure if we were going to be able to dance this year. Dance is such a big part of our lives, that any opportunity we have to get out on that floor, it means the world to us."

The team made several adjustments in 2020 and 2021. They adapted to changed rules for their state competition, including not being allowed to have costume changes and a shorter performance window. Normally, dances can be up to two minutes and fifteen seconds. In January, that was shortened to two minutes. That meant the team had to make changes to a dance they had started putting together back in October.

Early in the season the team even held virtual practices.

"Practicing virtually was very challenging," Mata said. "A lot of people had different connection settings so sometimes people were lagging. We have 14 girls and we're watching every screen, me and the other coach, and it's just like, how in the world can we do this?"

The Sidney dancers say community support helped push them through the season.

"Time and time again they've shown up or shared our stuff on social media," Mortensen said. "They've really been pushing us up there and we appreciate it so much because dancing for no audience is not really dancing."

The team travels on Tuesday before a Wednesday, Feb. 17, performance. The cheer team will also compete at state next week, although they must wait until Saturday, Feb. 20, to perform.