The West Fork dance team has only a few hours of preparation left before they take the floor at the Iowa State Dance and Drill Team Association Championships on Thursday in Des Moines. Head Coach Kaci Harper shares the time commitment that dancers put in.
“We want our kids to be very multi-talented, multi-skilled, they do all their other sports as well. We’re not like the normal sport, you say, that practices every day for two or three hours after school. We just get those five hours a week to practice,” says Harper. “I hand it off to these kids. They have to put the extra work in at home, which I know is hard for a lot of kids. These kids are determined. They’re really going to see the end result when they go to state, with that determination that they have.”
The Warhawks won four state titles at the 2025 ISDTA Championships, including Class IV Pom, Class III Hip-Hop, Class II Jazz and Class I Mix. Senior Kylin Johnson was a Class II individual state champion. The Warhawks will compete in the same categories as a team at this year’s event. Kylin Johnson, Emerli Johnson, Adra Johnson and Nahla Wilson will also compete individually. Seniors Abby Schoning, Keira Huling and Kylin Johnson are the captains of this year’s 12 member squad. Harper highlights the different ways that the trio makes an impact.
“These three girls are really putting forth the effort and leading the other girls. Kylin comes in to practice positive every single day, she is leading the team. Every single time, telling them what they need to correct, even for herself if she has an error she’s trying to correct it. Abby Schoning, same with her, she’s very good at making sure the girls are always positive, knowing the counts and knowing the choreography. She came off a strong volleyball season and then came right in to dance,” says Harper. “I think it’s just they’re both well-rounded girls, that are trying to make sure that the team is in the right spot for where we need to be. Same with Keira, these girls have been on the dance team for all four years and we’re really going to miss them.”
A full schedule of the Warhawks individual and team state performance times and locations:
More information about the event can be found at Iowa State Dance
