The Bearden dance team is once again well prepared and ready to achieve great things at the national level.

As the date of nationals is quickly approaching, the girls feel that they are more prepared than ever for taking on some of the premier dance programs from around the country.

“Most teams have always thought of us as an underdog, but we have beaten some very talented teams so they have started to look at us as more of a threat,” senior captain Faith Goddard said.

Before they can fully turn their attention to nationals, though, they head to Nashville for the state competition this weekend. In order to get to their current level of confidence for both state and nationals, the team has put in many hours of rigorous practice and preparation.

“We basically start preparing for nationals as soon as the new team is chosen,” senior Taylor Kidd said. “We have some really tough practices and it takes a lot of determination and thick skin to complete the practices we have.”

These practices are not easy and can last up to six hours at a time. Of course, not all the time they spend together is at practice. The team has a close relationship with each other that has been crafted over the years.

In addition to school time, the team often arranges dinners and parties that only help to strengthen the bond that has been forged between them.

“Having a strong friendship with the girls on the team not only helps us when we aren’t dancing, but when we are as well,” Goddard said. “Having that chemistry improves our performance and just makes us look all around better.”

The team will head to Orlando in February, where they will stay for three days and compete for a national title. The stakes don’t get any higher than that and the Lady Bulldogs are confident that they can be the best.

The team has finished as high as fourth in the nation in the past.

“We have extremely high hopes for nationals this year, and we think that we can bring home Bearden’s first medal,” Kidd said.