EHS dancers will open the year in London parade

Three Eatonville High School dance team members — captain Taylor James, Araya Vonderhorst and Kadance Watkins — have been invited to represent Eatonville and Varsity Spirit in the London New Year’s Day Parade this year in England.

The dancers will represent Varsity Spirit, a cheerleading and dance company owned by Varsity Brands, on the trip, scheduled for Dec. 26 through Jan. 3.

According to an announcement from the school, dancers, cheerleaders and drum majors who are invited “are part of a select group of All-Americans identified at Varsity Spirit summer camps across the country.”

All-Americans are selected based on their dancing, cheerleading or drum major skills, as well as leadership ability at camps. The Cruise Control Dance Team attended the Universal Dance Association home camp Aug. 18 through Aug. 20 at Eatonville High School and were selected as All-Americans. According to the announcement, only the top 12 percent of the cheerleaders and dancers from Varsity Spirit camps earn the chance to participate in a performance of this caliber.

The EHS dancers will perform with Varsity Spirit All-Americans; they also will get to meet cheerleaders and dancers from across the U.S. According to the news release, the All-Americans will perform to a street audience of more than 500,000 and a TV audience of more than 500 million annually.

James said she is most excited about traveling out of the country and seeing the culture and architecture in London, while Vonderhorst looks forward to experiencing the culture of another country and performing in such a big event. Walker said she can’t wait to see Big Ben and participate in the parade.

All three girls are working to raise the money needed for the trip.

Dispatch contributing writer Skip Smith added to this report.