WILLISTON N.D. (KXNET) — One local team from our state is now heading to Florida to compete in a national dance competition.

The Williston Wonderettes are a local drill team, and for the last four years, they’ve taken home the North Dakota Association of Dance and Drill state competition’s first-place title in Class A Varsity Hip-Hop. And this year, they also added first-place titles in the Pom and Jazz divisions.

“My first year was the first one that we took a state title,” stated co-captain Avery Baker. “Before that, we were more interested in having fun. We’re still competitive, but we’re just here to dance. And now we want to win, too.”

Varsity Head Coach Tia Hennix describes the team as a diverse group with a balance between the grace of dancers and the military precision of a drill team.

“It’s very team-based,” Hennix explained. “We create a lot of visuals with our routines. You want to see levels. You really want the whole team to be highlighted so that even when you have spotlights and difficult skills, just those alone can’t win it for the team. Everyone has to play a very important role if the team is going to be successful.”

She says it’s important that the drill team members work together. The routine has to be both artistic and precise, so everyone has to be on their A-game at all times. And the team captain agrees.

“Everything has to be together,” stated captain Lainey Barker. “If you’re not dancing together, if you’re not completely in sync, you’ll barely make the top five. And it’s more than just dancing together, it’s being a part of each other, feeling each other, and being together. Because if you’re not feeling close with each other or whatever, then you’re never going to look good out on that floor together.”

Hennix says she and the team are looking forward to competing at the Dance Team Union National Competition.

“We’re excited that we have accomplished so much here in our 10th season, and it gives us a little bit of a push to work even harder next year to keep it going,” continued Hennix.

Soon, they will show the rest of the country how you can be both graceful and strong when you work together and inspire others to find their own creativity amidst the order.

The drill team headed to Orlando, Florida on Wednesday for the competition.