By Ken Hansard 

Recently, VYPE had the privilege to visit with and get to know a bit more about Ambree Hoover, Captain of the Carthage High Dance Team. 

VYPE: What are your personal goals for the year?  

Hoover: This year, I hope to bridge the gap between participating with a high school dance team and being on a college dance team. I am thrilled and honored that I was recently given the opportunity to sign a letter of intent to continue my career dance with the Missouri State Sugar Bears Dance Team.  I am super excited that I will be able to continue working hard with a team at the collegiate level. 

VYPE: What is your favorite memory about your association with this team? 

Hoover: My team and I got the opportunity to travel all the way to Orlando, Florida for Dance Team Union Nationals, and our performances were exceptional. The best part was getting to have an extra fun day at Universal Studios together because we were able to just truly enjoy being there as a team.  

VYPE: What teammate has left the biggest impression on you and why?   

Hoover: My best friend and duet partner, Laney, has always built me up. She makes me feel like such a huge part of the team. She never fails to put the team before herself, and her meaningful words have stuck with me through each performance.  

VYPE: What is your favorite part of being a part of this team? 

Hoover: Being with the girls is like having a second family. I get to be around people who love me no matter what, and there’s nothing that compares to the camaraderie I’ve experienced with my team.  

VYPE: What clubs, community groups, or campus groups are you involved with and why? 

Hoover: I am the captain of the Carthage Royal Tigerettes Dance Team, which I joined because of my huge passion for dance. I have been a member of Ovation Studios Performing Company for ten years, and I have been in dance for a total of 16 years. I am also the captain of the Math League Team, which I became a part of because math continues to be my favorite subject in school. I’ve been involved in Sign Language Club the past four years because I have wanted to learn ASL since I was in elementary school. It was my honor and privilege to be inducted into the National Honors Society last year. I wanted to be a part of NHS so that I can work towards giving back to my community. Another club in which I am an active member is SkillsUSA, an organization that I joined to further develop my professionalism. Finally, I became a cadet for the Jasper County Youth Cadet Program my sophomore year of high school because I was deeply interested in the various aspects of police work. 

VYPE: What accolades (in any sport or non-athletic activity) are you most proud of? 

Hoover: Last year I was crowned Maple Leaf Queen for Carthage’s annual festival, and that was such a wonderful opportunity to involve myself further in my community. I was able to show my talent in dance as well as present my qualities, and I feel as though I represented my town well. I also received the Math League Top Individual of Class D award my junior year of high school, and it was very rewarding because it shows that my hard work paid off.  

VYPE: What has this sport taught you that you use in your daily life? 

Hoover: This sport has made me realize what it means to commit and play my part on a team. I’ve had to efficiently balance my time whilst also learning discipline, and that has helped me to adapt and grow as a dancer and person.  

VYPE: What is the best advice that anyone has given you? 

Hoover: My dance team coach, Melanie Perkins, taught me that I’m not in control of the judges’ responses to my performance, but that the only person I can control is myself. She helped me to remember that all I can do is my absolute best, and that no matter the result, I should be proud of myself.  

VYPE: Who inspires you and why? 

Hoover: My grandma has always been the person I consider my biggest inspiration. She is one of the most innocent, kind-hearted souls I’ve ever known, and she inspires me to be a positive role model to those around me. 

VYPE:  Here is your opportunity to give a shoutout to anyone you choose… 

Hoover: I would like to give a huge thank you to Coach Melanie, to my family, and to my fellow dance team members for the roles that each one of them has played in my life. I would not have become the person I am today without them.