- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,150,293
- Reaction score
- 59
HARLINGEN — “Let’s go Wolverines!”
And off they went to dazzle the judges with their dance moves at the Lone Star Spirit Collective Nationals in McAllen. And the dance team from Lee H. Means Elementary Fine Arts Academy so dazzled the judges at the event May 2 it won grand champion. Wolverine is the Lee Means mascot.
“It was a huge accomplishment for us,” said Naomi Shibuya, 11.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” said fellow dancer Halana Totman, 10.
The success of the Wolverine Elite Dance Team was a “huge accomplishment” for several reasons. This was the team’s first competition, and the 13 girls on the team nailed it. Their instructors are still somewhat in shock.
“It feels so surreal,” said Maribel Gomez, third grade teacher and hip-hop dance team instructor.
“We went into the competition just wanting to have fun and it was our very first competition so we were not expecting to win,” Gomez said.
While many of the girls have been dancing for quite some time, the dance team was created only a couple of years ago, said Sandra Luna, teacher/enrichment coordinator and fine arts liaison at Lee Means. No one, she added, expected it to take off the way it has.
“They would just perform out in public for HCISD events and of course at our school and for parents,” Luna said. “But after seeing how much talent we had in the team, I suggested we take them to a dance competition.”
Once she got the “green light” to do so, Luna signed up the team for the May 2 competition.
“We were all anxious to go and see how we would measure up against other schools and our results were amazing,” Luna said. “We competed against four other elementary schools in a hip hop division. We placed first in our division and received a national banner award and then won grand champion overall.”
The dance team at Lee H. Means Elementary Fine Arts Academy won grand champion Saturday, May 2, 2026, at the Lone Star Spirit Collective Nationals in McAllen. (Courtesy photo)
Halana said she did feel somewhat apprehensive when she arrived with her team.
“There were a lot of other good teams,” she said.
“She’s a tumbler,” said Luna, “so she brought a lot of tumbling and students into the dance.”
She and Mia Montalvo have been tumblers and in cheerleading class (separate from school) so they brought something fresh into the group.
“I do a different sport, and I wanted to try something new by being in the dance team,” she said. “I do cheer camp. In hip hop, we do some tumble skills.”
Parents, of course, have been excited as well.
“I’m extremely (proud) of her and the whole team,” said Angela Totman, the mother of Halana.
“I know all of the girls worked really hard and I’m really grateful for the staff, the teachers, and the administrators for all they did for the team,” she said.
The dance team at Lee H. Means Elementary Fine Arts Academy won grand champion Saturday, May 2, 2026, at the Lone Star Spirit Collective Nationals in McAllen. (Courtesy photo)
She spoke more specifically now of her daughter Halana, who is also in soccer and cheerleading.
“She is very passionate about it,” she said. “There were days when she had dance practice after school and then she had soccer practice and then she had cheerleading back-to-back. She really truly loves hip-hop dance.”
So does Aria Alcala, 11.
“I really enjoyed my team and the people in it and being able to practice my talent,” she said. “The teachers were very supportive. I feel we did so well because of how hard we worked and how much work we put into this dance.”
The post Harlingen CISD dance team dazzles as it wins grand champion appeared first on MyRGV.com.
Continue reading...
And off they went to dazzle the judges with their dance moves at the Lone Star Spirit Collective Nationals in McAllen. And the dance team from Lee H. Means Elementary Fine Arts Academy so dazzled the judges at the event May 2 it won grand champion. Wolverine is the Lee Means mascot.
“It was a huge accomplishment for us,” said Naomi Shibuya, 11.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” said fellow dancer Halana Totman, 10.
The success of the Wolverine Elite Dance Team was a “huge accomplishment” for several reasons. This was the team’s first competition, and the 13 girls on the team nailed it. Their instructors are still somewhat in shock.
“It feels so surreal,” said Maribel Gomez, third grade teacher and hip-hop dance team instructor.
“We went into the competition just wanting to have fun and it was our very first competition so we were not expecting to win,” Gomez said.
While many of the girls have been dancing for quite some time, the dance team was created only a couple of years ago, said Sandra Luna, teacher/enrichment coordinator and fine arts liaison at Lee Means. No one, she added, expected it to take off the way it has.
“They would just perform out in public for HCISD events and of course at our school and for parents,” Luna said. “But after seeing how much talent we had in the team, I suggested we take them to a dance competition.”
Once she got the “green light” to do so, Luna signed up the team for the May 2 competition.
“We were all anxious to go and see how we would measure up against other schools and our results were amazing,” Luna said. “We competed against four other elementary schools in a hip hop division. We placed first in our division and received a national banner award and then won grand champion overall.”
The dance team at Lee H. Means Elementary Fine Arts Academy won grand champion Saturday, May 2, 2026, at the Lone Star Spirit Collective Nationals in McAllen. (Courtesy photo)
Halana said she did feel somewhat apprehensive when she arrived with her team.
“There were a lot of other good teams,” she said.
“She’s a tumbler,” said Luna, “so she brought a lot of tumbling and students into the dance.”
She and Mia Montalvo have been tumblers and in cheerleading class (separate from school) so they brought something fresh into the group.
“I do a different sport, and I wanted to try something new by being in the dance team,” she said. “I do cheer camp. In hip hop, we do some tumble skills.”
Parents, of course, have been excited as well.
“I’m extremely (proud) of her and the whole team,” said Angela Totman, the mother of Halana.
“I know all of the girls worked really hard and I’m really grateful for the staff, the teachers, and the administrators for all they did for the team,” she said.
The dance team at Lee H. Means Elementary Fine Arts Academy won grand champion Saturday, May 2, 2026, at the Lone Star Spirit Collective Nationals in McAllen. (Courtesy photo)
She spoke more specifically now of her daughter Halana, who is also in soccer and cheerleading.
“She is very passionate about it,” she said. “There were days when she had dance practice after school and then she had soccer practice and then she had cheerleading back-to-back. She really truly loves hip-hop dance.”
So does Aria Alcala, 11.
“I really enjoyed my team and the people in it and being able to practice my talent,” she said. “The teachers were very supportive. I feel we did so well because of how hard we worked and how much work we put into this dance.”
The post Harlingen CISD dance team dazzles as it wins grand champion appeared first on MyRGV.com.
Continue reading...
