The Liberty Belles dance team won first place for hip-hop and pom and “Superior Showmanship” and “Innovative Choreography” awards at National Dance Alliance’s High School National Competition in Orlando, Fla. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – The Liberty Belles dance team at Liberty Middle School earned top honors at the National Dance Alliance’s High School National Competition in Orlando, Fla. on March 6-8.

After advancing to finals, Liberty won first place nationally in junior high divisions for hip-hop and pom. Liberty also received the “Superior Showmanship” and “Innovative Choreography” awards.

Eight-grade dancers are Kimberly Campbell, Ashton Davis, Faith Engelkemier, Jaylin Martin, Sydney Matheney and Sydney Williams.

Seventh-grade dancers are Maddie Barnes, Olivia Bauch, Sarah Bryan, Carsen Clift, Mary Caton Davidson, Grace Gray, Emma Lingerfelt and Molly Willis.

“This is such a huge honor since this is the first time we’ve ever competed in a national competition,” sponsor Thomasena Garner said.

Teams qualify for national competition at the alliance’s dance camps and/or regional contests. Last summer, the Liberty Belles submitted a video and qualified to attend, along with placing first at alliance regional competition last November.

More than 8,000 dancers competed in Orlando.

“Even though middle school competition was small, it was interesting to see how they would have placed in the varsity categories,” Garner said. For the small varsity hip-hop category, Liberty was in the top seven, medium varsity’s top 12 and large varsity’s top ten.

At the season’s beginning, the Liberty Belles set a goal to win a national dance title for their school. With that motivation, they won first place at Universal Dance Association’s summer camp in Birmingham.

However, Garner was hesitant about their first national contest and didn’t want the team to feel overwhelmed. “I was so impressed. Their hip-hop performance was the absolute best performance ever. I was pleased to end our season on such a good note,” she said.

“Agreeing to coach the dance team wasn’t at all a difficult decision,” Garner said about coaching since 2009. “I’ve been part of the dance world since I was five.” In her ninth year at Liberty, she teaches seventh-grade science.

A classically trained dancer, Garner has taught many dance disciplines and cheered for local professional sports teams.