Neighbor News
Manalapan High School Competition Dance Team Makes Strong Debut
On January 26th the newly formed MHS Competition Dance Team competed in their very first competition and left the audience wanting more.
In the summer of 2024 Manalapan High School Varsity Dance Team (MHSDT) came under the new direction of Coach Kristie Ury. Coach Kristie trained and taught at Central Jersey Dance and Gymnastics in Middlesex, NJ. Shortly after forming the MHS Game Day team, Coach Ury, Katie Fasbach and Kaity Ury began planning the creation of MHSDT ’s first ever competition team. Coach Katie trained and teaches at Icon Dance Complex in Manalapan, and received her BA in Dance from Rowan University. Coach Kaity also trained at Central Jersey Dance and Gymnastics, and was a 2 year member of the Rutgers University Dance Team. Auditions were held in late fall and after the team was selected practices immediately began.
Dancers from CODA, Dance Attitudes, Dance Stop, Icon Dance Complex, and Rising Stars came together to form the first ever Manalapan High School Competition Dance Team. In less than 2 months, the coaches curated a competition ready team. The MHSDT Competition Team performed at the Rutgers University Showcase on Friday, January 10 and attended their first ever competition at Hillsborough High School on Sunday, January 26th .
Although it was a short season, this team has already made a huge impact. They competed against seasoned teams and came out strong at their very first competition placing 4th out of 10 for Varsity Hip Hop and 8th out of 12 for Varsity Pom.
This summer the entire MHSDT (game day and competition) has plans to attend UDA camp to sharpen their skills and receive top-notch training for the 2025-26 school year.
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The MHSDT competitive group will be working double-time with hopes to attend UDA Nationals winter of 2026 to compete against the best of the best in Florida.
A huge thank you to our incredible coaches for guiding these dancers with passion and dedication! We can’t wait to see what’s next for this talented group!
