At three years old,  senior Olivia Nilsen, co-captain of varsity Mystique, walked on stage for her first dance recital. Tomorrow at Lee’s Summit High School, Nilsen will walk on stage for one of her last competitions with Mystique.

To prepare for the competition tomorrow, the team has been attending six a.m. practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and they perform during halftime for home varsity basketball games, which Nilsen said helps the girls with performing in front of a crowd, instead of just practicing in front of their coaches.

Nilsen said the team is feeling pretty good about their competition tomorrow even though Erin Brooks, sophomore, hurt her hip abductor and will not be dancing full force.

“We’re looking towards State and Nationals, which is more important, so we’re just going to get through it,” Nilsen said.

Varsity Mystique will compete their jazz and pom routines at State on Feb. 28, and they will travel to Orlando, Fl. to compete at Universal Studios on March 7.

Cara Nutt, head coach of varsity Mystique, has been considering taking varsity dancers out of their competition jazz dance if they could not do an aerial cartwheel by the end of the month.

Although alternates have always been an option, this year the coaches are encouraging the girls to test their limits and reach their full potential, Nutt said. Almost every other team who competes at Nationals brings alternates; it’s in the nature of the game.

“Injuries happen in the wings, and there’s girls who have to step in all the time,” Nutt said.

Despite the added pressure of alternates, Nilsen said everyone has been able to come together and work as a team, and she believes Nutt will let all 12 of the varsity dancers perform.

Nilsen, who has been a part of Mystique for all four years of high school, said the team has really great chemistry this year, and she’ll miss all of their jokes next year.

“Try out for the dance team next, freshmen,” Nilsen said. “You won’t regret it.”