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SOUTH JORDAN — The Bingham High School drill team, the Minerettes, were crowned the 2016 Grand National Champions for the third year in a row.
The team competed in a national drill competition called "The Contest of Champions" at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida.
Over 600 routines performed at the competition, with the Minerettes taking part in four of them, garnering awards like first place in their military routine, hip hop routine and character routine, as well as second place for their jazz routine and others.
"We had a great season," said Jamyn Miller, Head Coach of the Minerettes. "The Minerettes won every invitational completion where they competed. They also won their region competition and took second at state in Utah."
The Minerettes have been an institution at Bingham High for years and have honed the art of drill to a science, to the point that their movements are so precisely choreographed, the dancers move together as a singular machine. This is nowhere more evident than in their character routine, in which the Minerettes don robotic costumes complete with lights and silver face paint.
These feats are accomplished through long hours and effort by the dancers, who practice up to 20 hours a week, as well as their leaders and parents.
"There have been countless hours put into the costume and the routine," Miller said. "The choreography is about 'what would a robot do?' There are some team tricks and also some hip hop in that routine, and it's quite a crowd pleaser."
Though the competition in Orlando marks the end of the Minerette's competitive season, those hoping to see the award-winning drill team and their jaw-dropping routines can see them in action at a special showcase at Bingham High School on March 16 at 7 p.m.
Sean Stoker is a journalism student at UVU interning for KSL.com. He runs a YouTube channel at QuestSeans.com. Follow him on Twitter @theroyalthey
