The Dazzler dance team will leave the Midwest for Orlando, Fla. for the National Dance Alliance national competition tomorrow.

Dazzler coach Andrea Smith said there will be approximately 170 teams there that will be categorized into groups depending on their size and type of dance.The BVNW team will be competing in two different categories: large varsity jazz and large varsity hip-hop. Smith said with all of the preparation that has gone into their dances, she believes the team is ready to compete.

“I think they’ll do very well,” Smith said. “It’s hard to tell because we’ve never competed there, but they’re a very talented group and I think they are very well prepared.”

The team will first compete on Saturday, and if they rank high enough they will move on to compete the following day. Smith said the improvement the team has witnessed within themselves is giving them a positive outlook for the competition.

“The team has improved a lot this season,” Smith said. “We recently watched a video from the beginning of the year of the same dance they are taking [to the competition] and the difference is night and day. They’ve worked so hard to get these dances done.”

Smith said because the team is new to this particular competition, it may be difficult going into it unknown. What the team takes away from this experience, Smith said, is the most important.

“I hope that they all come away feeling like we brought our best dance and that they had a good time,” Smith said. “I also hope they learn a lot from seeing other teams and just the experience as a whole.”

Dazzler member sophomore Maggie Pyle said the excitement for the trip is there, but nerves will become a factor once they get there. Pyle said the best part of this trip for her will be spending the time with her team.

“Every time we compete and spend more time together,” Pyle said. “We never fight, and we always get closer as a team. We like to compete and do it all as a team, win or lose.”