Braintree High Dancers Claim First Place at State Championships [VIDEO]

The following is from the dance team and Patti DiBona:

Braintree High's Varsity Dance Team won first place at the MSSAA (Massachusetts Secondary School Administrators Association) Fall State Cheerleading and Dance Championship, Nov. 20 at Shrewsbury High School. This is the fourth consecutive year the team has captured the title since the MSSAA recognized the competition as a Fall State Championship Event in 2008.

According to BHS Coach Jamie Hale, the team of 17 girls, led by senior captains Olivia DiBona, Stephanie Fitopoulos and Siena McHugh, competed against eight other qualifying dance teams from across Massachusetts. Needham High School placed second and Wakefield High School came in third place. BHS outscored both teams by a wide margin.

Hale said the panel of six judges commented on the team's high level of technical difficulty with incredibly synchronized pirouettes, fouettes, and leaps.

"The judges said the team had a natural communication with the audience, displayed musicality, and creative choreography," Hale said. "They are such a hard-working and talented group of athletes," Hale said of her team, who learned the award-winning routine in just six days following a at a competition at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston the previous weekend.

A former BHS dancer herself, Hale is known for taking the sport of dance to the next level with fast-moving, heart-stopping choreography that is fun to watch.

With two Fall wins under its belt, BHS Varsity Dance is now in Orlando, Florida in February. The team qualified for this competition following a dance performance at an Emmanuel College camp this past summer.

"While our dance routines are certainly difficult, fundraising is an even more daunting task," said Coach Hale. Travel expenses to Florida are high and the team is also being outfitted with regulation uniforms. Parents are hoping to offset the costs of travel and hotel accommodations through numerous fundraising activities and events.

An iPad raffle kicked off in September and will continue until January when the winner will be announced. Tickets are available for $5 each and can be purchased from Rosanne Fitopoulos at rosannefit@verizon.net.

Six poster-sized lawn signs are also making their way around Braintree. Bearing the words "Wamp this Way,” and featuring a colorful Wamp dancer illustrated by dance team parent, Liz Page, the signs grace the front lawns of Braintree homes for two days in exchange for a donation. Residents have been extremely generous.

"We plan to continue this fundraiser right up until the snow makes it too difficult," Page said.

Alumnae dance team members have been particularly touched when they find the ”Wamp this Way” sign in front of their homes. Dawn Montgomery, the mother of former dancer Kyle Montgomery Murphy, BHS '08, said, "It gives me great pride to support the BHS Varsity Dance Team. The girls work so hard and I'm excited for them to attend Nationals again.

"When Kyle and the BVD team won first place at Nationals in 2008, it was a moment I will never forget. I still get chills when I watch the DVD and I'm sure every girl from that team remembers Nationals as the biggest event in their lives. I was so excited to learn I had been 'Wamped!' I displayed the sign on my lawn with great pride and arranged solar lights around the dancer so people could see her illuminated at night. I want all of Braintree to know how proud
I was and still am to be the parent of a BHS Varsity Dance team member."

For information about, "Wamp this Way," contact Liz Page at pages6@msn.com.

On Dec. 3, the Braintree Varsity Dance is sponsoring a "Girls' Night Out" event at Braintree High School for girls in elementary and middle school. Held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the BHS Gym, tickets are $10. The evening will be supervised by dance team coaches and parents and will include crafts, girly activities and lots and lots of dancing! The BHS Varsity and JV Dance Teams will teach line dances and will perform their award-winning routines.

Courtney Logan Romano, a Braintree business owner, will be on hand with hairstylists from her new salon, , selling feather hair extensions for $7. Pizza and a drink will be sold for $3. To learn more about "Girls' Night Out," contact Patti DiBona at pmdibona@verizon.net.