By TAYLOR DENMAN

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Stephanie Martin, head coach of the Adams County Christian School Rebelettes dance team, called it the biggest stage her squad had been on.

As her squad of ten dancers stood on the field before the 2016 Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., Martin said her girls tried to focus on what months of preparation had prepared them for.

“They just tried not to look any higher than what was right in front of them,” Martin said. “It was big time.”

By all accounts, the team performed well. But the road to performing before the Citrus Bowl started early last summer when the team placed third place with a home routine in a Universal Dance Association camp in Panama City, Fla. The top three teams in the event were qualified for the trip to Orlando and a performance at the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day.

“We’d been to this camp before and we’d placed before,” Martin said. “But this year, I wanted them to have that experience to go (to the Citrus Bowl).”

The game was a blowout. No. 14 Michigan topped No. 19 Florida 47-7, but for senior dancer Kristen Rhinehart, the event was more about living up her first trip to Orlando.

“It was exciting and there were a lot of people there,” Rhinehart said. “The rides were better than the actual dancing.”

As for the actual dancing, Martin said her team was small compared to the others. Over 600 dancers performed with their teams at the bowl game, and the event was the culmination of the Rebelettes season. For seniors like Rhinehart, it was likely their last team performance.

“The kids enjoyed it,” Martin said. “They had long practices and rehearsal. We were tired; it was nonstop.”

The high in Orlando was 85 degrees for that game, and the turtleneck uniforms the team was where didn’t help the heat, said junior Allison Carter. Once the routine was over, it was just as relieving to get out of the heat as it was to get out of the way of hundreds of thousands of eyeballs in the stadium.

“I think we did well for such a small team,” Carter said.

A calming character through most of the event was coach Martin.

“She was just video taping and laughing at us,” Rinehart said.

It was a big stage for her team, Martin said, and she is looking forward to her next squad to qualify again next season.