Each year, dancers from all over the state of Minnesota compete in Miss Dance Team Minnesota, a competition for dancers on high school dance teams to perform solo routines and represent their school. On Sunday, October 25th, just one dancer from BSM competed and even brought home a title: freshman Sloane Dokman. 

Dancers from a wide variety of schools compete in Miss Dance Team Minnesota, but Sloane being the sole competitor from BSM did not stop her. Sloane took first place out of all the ninth grade dancers in the entire competition. This is a huge achievement for someone as young as Sloane.“I just switched to dance team at Benilde and I am really loving it, and I have a great passion for dance,” Dokman said. 

At just 14 years old, Sloane is one of the youngest members of the BSM Dance Team. It is also her very first year on the team. Going into a big competition as a new team member is hard, but Sloane was happily embraced by the whole team. “I was really nervous at first, but once I met all the girls I felt more comfortable, because everyone’s so nice and welcoming,” Dokman said. 

Due to the Coronavirus, holding dance competitions lately has been a challenge. The Ames Center in Burnsville hosted Miss Dance Team Minnesota this year, which is different from past years. Usually, it’s held at Eastview Highschool, but the Ames Center was able to abide by the Coronavirus restrictions placed on the competition. Since competitions nowadays are rare, Sloane decided to take a chance and compete. “I haven’t competed in a while, because of Covid, so I thought it would be fun to get back up onstage and to dance again because that’s just really fun for me,” Dokman said. 

Most competitors in Miss Dance Team Minnesota perform a similar style of dance. However, Sloane took a risk and competed with a dance that was different from the rest of her competition. While most dancers wore pastel colors and danced to light, airy music, Sloane’s music was dark, and she was costumed in all black. But her perfectly executed dance stood out from all the others, and she pulled off a win. Since her dance differed from the stereotypical routine, Sloane was worried about what the judges would think of her dance. “I honestly did not think that I was going to win,” Dokman said. 

Despite her worries and her doubts, Sloane performed an incredible routine. It’s clear that dance is something that she truly loves to do, and her talent is far beyond her years. “Backstage, I was also very nervous, but once I got up onstage, I felt great because I just love being onstage and competing,” Dokman said. 

Luckily, fans were still able to come and watch the competition while following the Covid-19 guidelines. Sloane’s teammates came to watch and support her, and that touched Sloane, since she’s new to the team. “I would like to thank my teammates for coming in and supporting me throughout the whole thing,” Dokman said.