Making history: rebuilding Oakettes

Addison Childs, Writer

February 27, 2026

Oakettes at Universal after making it into Pom Semis

From February 12th to 17th, the Oak Hills High School Varsity dance team, otherwise known as the Oakettes, took the stage at the national level to compete against teams from all around the nation. The National Dance Alliance high school nationals are a once-a-year opportunity for teams to put their best foot forward one last time and compete against the best of the best teams.

Oakettes hugging after performing the pom routine one last time, all together in pom finals.

Competing through three rounds, the Oak Hills Oakettes took the stage in the small varsity hip-hop and pom categories. The three rounds of competition are prelims, semi-finals, and finals. Depending on the size of the category, the competition will determine whether the division competes in all three rounds or just two. Competing against 43 other teams in small varsity pom, the Oakettes took the stage three separate times, allowing for each opportunity to look better than the last. On Saturday, February 14th, the Oakettes took the stage for prelims and put out the best performance they could have. Once the judges’ comments came back and scores were released, the Oakettes realized they had moved forward in the competition. Moving through prelims into semis, and semis into finals, the Oakettes worked hard and made the changes they needed to make the best of their final performances. With a score of 85.6, the Oakettes were placed 9th out of 43 teams(Varsity).

For hip hop, the Oakettes had a Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake-themed routine. Wearing camo cargo pants, with a red tank being revealed under a black vest, the Oakettes proved to many that they are a force to be reckoned with in the small varsity hip hop division. For the first time in years, the Oakettes competed with 10 girls on the floor, and this significantly helped their placement and ability to give more on the floor. Since the division is so small, the teams only competed in semis and finals if they made it. Taking only 60% of the category into finals, the Oakettes were happy with their placement going into it. After competing one last time on February 16th, the Oakettes were extremely proud of their performance. Senior, Kaitlyn Erskine, who is a four year memeber of the varsity dance team, explained, “I do not think we could have done anything better. It was a great way to end my high school career.” Erskine is moving on to be on the spirit squad at Mount Saint Joe, and her presence within the OHLSD dance community will be missed. With a final score of 84.7, the Oakettes placed 8th out of 28 teams(Varsity).

Oakettes after competing in hip hop finals, enjoying the Florida sun

The Oakettes went with one goal: to make everyone back home proud. To say they achieved this is an understatement. The motto of their season was “One Team. One Fight. One Dream.” and this dream was accomplished. From taking a year-long break from NDA Nationals, losing at Jamfest Nationals the year prior, the Oakettes accomplished more than anyone could have asked for. If you want to check out both of their routines, go to the Oakettes Instagram page(@oakhillsoakettes), and view the two most recent posts.

“FloSports.” Varsity.com, 2025, tv.varsity.com/events/14478811-2026-nda-national-championship/results/view-all?facets=%7B%22class%22:%22Dance%22. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.

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About the Contributor

Addison Childs, Writer

Addison Childs is a senior at Oak Hills High School who is looking forward to her second year working on the Tartan. She was drawn to the prospect of taking Honors Tartan because she found out that her Seminar teacher, Mrs. Vaive, was going to be leading the class. Childs has had a very illustrious school career so far, receiving multiple Academic O’s for her and enrolling in multiple AP and CCP classes. A “jack-of-all-trades,” as shared by her long-time friend Clayton Wiegele, she’s also a very proficient dancer here at Oak Hills, competing with our state and nationally ranked team. When she is not at practice or school, Childs likes to listen to SZA and hang out with friends. Childs is a very self-driven person, stating that the biggest lesson she has learned is not to follow in others’ footsteps. She plans to attend the University of Cincinnati to study chemical engineering and enjoy the student life around campus. From there, Childs wants to use that degree to become a pharmaceutical chemical engineer, to help with drug production and safety. Addison is a perfect fit for the Tartan paper.