Wendland, Loder compete with Moment in Time Dance Company in Wadena

Contributed photo
Jalena Loder (second from left in back row) and Ashley Wendland (back row far right) recently were part of a dance group that won a national championship in Wadena.

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

A pair of Henning dancers helped the Moment in Time Dance Company bring home top honors at the Triple S National Dance competition in Wisconsin Dells, Wisc. 

The competition was held at the Wilderness Resort and featured 11 dancers from the Wadena-based dance company. Among those dancers was Jalena Loder and Ashely Wendland of Henning. 

After qualifying at a regional competition earlier this year, Moment in Time Dance Company dancers traveled to Wisconsin Dells in mid-June to compete against some of the best dancers in the country. This was the first time the dance company qualified for nationals, which included both Wendland and Loder. The four-day competition was something both dancers were members of the national champion contemporary dance from Moment in Time Dance Company that depicted a story of a soldier who wanted to come home to see his loved one, only to die before he was able to make his journey home. 

The contemporary dance received first place in the category and won the national championship to earn a spot in the national finals. In the superstar group showcase, in which just three teams earned a spot to compete for the top crown, the Wadena group took first place. 

In addition to the contemporary dance the tap group won first place in their category and was the national champion second runner up. The teen jazz group received second place in the jazz category and the teen tap group received second place in that category as well. 

Wendland, who will be a junior at Henning School in the fall, has been in dance for the past 12 years and enjoys the opportunity to continue to improve on a national level.

“It’s just something I have always been doing and I have gotten good at it the more I practice,” she said.

Loder will be a sophomore at Henning School in the fall and was on both the contemporary and tap teams at the national competition. 

Representing the studio were Danica Pederson, Braelyn Wegscheid, Taya Larson, Robyn Mayer, Taya Arvidson, Ashley Wendland, Jalena Loder, Brooklyn Leeseberg, Aliyah Leeseberg, Haylee Wegscheid and Addie Wegscheid.