MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury Union High School dance team continued a strong winter campaign with second-place finishes in two disciplines at its home meet this past Saturday.

The Tiger dancers were second to Lamoille in close judging in the five-team Hip Hop competition, and also took second behind South Burlington in the Pom competition, in which three teams took the floor.

Mount Mansfield edged Lamoille in the four-team Jazz competition.

SENIOR ALEXA WHELAN gets expressive with her eyes and hands as the Middlebury Union High School dance team hip hops its way to second place in a five-team competition at home on Saturday.
Independent photo/Steve James

FLYING HAIR ON Alexa Whelan, left, and Hannah Cormier add to the Middlebury Union High School dance team’s Hip Hop performance at a home meet on Saturday. The Tigers placed second with this routine.
Independent photo/Steve James

The race between the Tigers and Lamoille was tight in Hip Hop. The judges overall ranked the Tigers first in five of the 11 criteria in which they rate the teams — execution of movement, spacing, communication/projection, complexity of movement, and overall impression.

But Lamoille gained an edge in the other six criteria. Two judges rated them the top team, and the third placed them in third place, for a total of five points. The three judges ranked MUHS first, second and third, respectively, for six points, and the call went Lamoille’s way.

Mount Mansfield (seven) was a close third, with Burr & Burton (13) and Mount Anthony (14) trailing.

South Burlington clearly prevailed in Pom, with first-place rankings from all three judges overall and in most criteria. All the judges rated the Tigers second, and they did well in communication/projection and synchronicity. Mount Anthony was third on all three scorecards.

Mount Mansfield edged Lamoille, 5-6, in the four-team Jazz field. Two judges ranked the teams in a first-place tie, but one gave MMU the nod over Lamoille, and MMU prevailed. South Burlington (nine) and Burr & Burton (13) trailed.

The MUHS dance team is scheduled to compete at Lamoille on Saturday at 1 p.m.

THE TIGER DANCE team members seem to be asking a question as they bop through their Hip Hop routing in a home competition on Saturday. Judges gave them first in the communication/projection criteria.
Independent photo/Steve James