Champion Legacy, a Sioux Falls based dance studio, has made history once again by winning numerous awards at the Dance Worlds Competition.

Dance Worlds, a three day competition held in Orlando, FL, and is considered by many to be the Olympics of dance. Being just as difficult as the Olympics, it was no easy feat to qualify for the competition. Champion dedicated hours each day to perfecting their routines, and learned from the best instructor from around the country.

Champion worked tirelessly to gain their spot, practicing daily for hours in order to perfect their moves. Junior Brooke O’Connor was a part of the winning team, and noted the hours of preparations and the many sacrifices needed to compete at this advanced level.

“Since we have practice every day at 4 p.m., getting involved in school activities is not easy,” said O’Connor. “I had to give up going to club meetings after school and I even had to give up going to state basketball since I had a dance competition. Making the sacrifices is definitely worth it, because this team is like a family to me.”

These sacrifices paid off, as her team was given invitations for six of their routines to compete at the Worlds competition. With these birds came help to pay for the expense of traveling to Florida.

“This year five of our routines received a paid bid which means we got an invitation including $5,000 to help pay for expenses, and one received an at-large bid,” said O’Connor.

Still, beating these odds did not mean they had the competition in the bag. Champion had to face off against the best teams from across the globe including teams from Texas, Kentucky, Michigan, Florida, and other international teams. O’Connor remembered how anxious she was watching other teams.

“The competition is very tough since we have been looking up to those who we have been competing against throughout these past few years,” said O’Connor. “It is very nerve racking, but I could feel the energy from my teammates which helped me calm down.”

Even with the nervous feelings, Champion danced some of their best shows, and landed  the highest honors at the competition. Champion won gold titles in jazz and pom, and received a bronze metal in the coed hip hop division. O’Connor remembered the high emotions that ran throughout her team.

“Once we heard our name called as World Champions, the whole team collapsed, the crowd went crazy,” said O’Connor. “The best part about it is knowing how much support we get from not only our families, but our friends, other dance studios, and everyone back in Sioux Falls.”

Now, O’Connor and her winning team are looking forward to their next goal of keeping their World Champion title and taking home the gold in all events.

“The ultimate goal is to metal in every dance we bring to Worlds, this year we got 4th in both Hip Hop and Lyrical, so we were only one place away from reaching that goal,” said O’Connor.