On November 17, the Silver Stars competed in the Georgia High School State Dance Line Competition at Clayton State University. It’s one of the most important competitions of the year for the North Atlanta dance troupe, which is coached by Vershion Funderburk. For the last two years, the Silver Stars have placed second in the competition.

This year the young women went to the competition with heightened determination. The sense of purpose they had made a big difference: the team won first place, doing so for the first time ever.

In past years, the Silver Stars didn’t start preparing for the annual competition until close to the event. The lack of preparation meant they weren’t getting the results they wanted. To ensure success, captains Charnicia Woodward and Alexandria Smith began formulating dance numbers a month and a half before the competition. “We knew that we could do better. We were tired of second and third place, so this year we knew it would take more work to reach out goal of first place,” Woodward said.

Team members took extra time because this year’s choreography was more complex and had a faster tempo. “It was really challenging to learn the moves,” said sophomore Na’Kina Gay.

The dance music was a creative mash-up between “Hot Boy” by Bobby Shmurda, “All About that Base” by Meghan Trainor and “Beyonce” by Beyonce.

When the hard work was over and the competition arrived, the young women were fully prepared and ready. However, a change in events presented a potentially serious competition obstacle. Personal issues meant that captains Woodward and Smith could not perform. The Silver Stars had to give it a go without having their leaders on the dance floor. But in the face of this adversity, the stars shone bright. They worked together as a team, danced their hearts out, and impressed the judges enough to garner a first-place designation.

“We were committed to trying to win. We were ‘all in’ to get the first place and it was a beautiful thing to see our plans come to pass,” said Woodward.

“Even though I wasn’t able to compete, my team adjusted well and came through,” said Smith. “It says so much about the characters of those who are in this program.”