THOMASVILLE — The Thomasville High School Red Hots competitive dance team sizzled in its season opener last weekend at the War Eagle Warm-Up at South Forsyth High School in Cumming, Georgia. The team finished in second place in kick and third in jazz in the Class 3-A category.

“It was a great first performance,” said Alison Bundrick, dance teacher/coach at the Thomasville High Scholars Academy. “Unfortunately, we have been plagued a little bit with injury and illness this season. It’s been a challenge, as with any athletic endeavor, when you’ve got a team situation and you’re losing kids.

“Like a second string, they’re called alternates and we’ve got alternates. The alternates did a fabulous job. As an alternate you don’t necessarily get as many reps as everybody else. They did a great job.”

The seventh and eighth grade middle school Dance Dawgs scored first place in kick, jazz and in trio.

The Red Hots and Dance Dawgs will compete again this weekend at the Buford Invitational at Buford High School.

This year’s high school team includes sophomore Ana Chambers, junior Hallie Coppedge, freshman Savannah Harpe, freshman Kinley Harrison, sophomore Amy Holt, senior Kylie Holt, senior Brianna June, junior Caroline Lewis, freshman Kayla Mathis, junior Albree Norton, freshman Stella Smith, senior Latia Thomas, senior Keely Walden and sophomore Katybeth Willis.

Bundrick said the team will continue to improve thanks to judges’ feedback and film review sessions held on Mondays.

“The first go-around, you start to see the pieces through a different lens as you begin to get judges’ feedback in terms of aspects of the choreography that are possibly not reading like you anticipated and synchronization that I had not noticed,” Bundrick said.

“The judges’ feedback is critical to our ability to come back. We watch film just like the football team. We go over the footage from the competition. We take their notes and literally play it back in super slow motion speed.”