The Red Oak Middle School Highsteppers are practicing for their upcoming Showtime International competition, which will take place March 5 in Lewisville.

The Highsteppers will be competing against more than 30 teams at the competition. They will do four different dances as a team in four different styles, and the drill team officers will compete in three different styles as an officer group.

“The competition days are long,” dance teacher Cathy Isaacks said, noting that the girls will be in and out of the dressing room.

The girls will also compete in solo and duet competitions at the events.

“They’re not ready yet,” Isaacks said. “But they will be in a month. Some of the routines we are doing, we learned back in the summer and some of the routines are new. So we are still in the process of learning choreography, so it’s sort of an all-year process.”

Isaacks tries to inspire her dancers before competition.

“I usually just tell them to just go out there, and be with each other and enjoy the moment,” she said. “This is a special time in their lives that they get to experience this together, that they can be confident, that they’re ready, that they’re out there as a team, and they’re gonna do great.”

Highstepper Abigail Ceballos said she is nervous, but ready for the competition, especially since she will be performing hip hop.

“We get to do our hip-hop dance in the competition and we were Ms. Isaacks’ first team ever since she’s been a dance teacher to do a hip-hop performance at the competition,” Ceballos said.