MONROE - Before Kira Phillips reached high school, she watched her older sister Makayla and the Monroe High School dance team compete in tournaments and perform routines at halftime at various sporting events for four years - reaching the state competition in both 2016 and 2017.

Kira, now a freshman, gets to follow in the footsteps of her since-graduated sister.

"It's really cool that I can switch places with her - me performing and her watching," Kira Phillips said.

The MHS dance team performed Jan. 27 at Watertown and will compete today at the La Crosse Center for a chance at high school immortality.

"This team grew tremendously," said senior Olivia Werth, a four-year member of the team. "A lot of the girls don't have a lot of experience, but they have improved their skills so much."

The dance squad is a group of girls with all different backgrounds in dance, according to head coach Kathryn Zastrow. Experience levels range from life-long dancers to those who just started in June, and the team dances in three distinct styles - pom, jazz and hip-hop.

"Poms uses pompoms and has clear formations," Zastrow said. "Jazz is more fluid and lyrical. It has more of a ballet background with turns and leaps. Hip-hop is more of a street style that combines sharp hitting movements and can get low to the ground."

For the sake of competition, teams are only allowed to compete in two genres. For many larger schools, dance can be taken as an elective course for school - which would put teams like Monroe at a disadvantage, because they are not school-funded.

"We've raised money from things like tractor pulls and T-shirt sales," Werth said.

Monroe opted to compete in both the jazz and hip-hop categories. A fourth-place finish at the Watertown regionals meant the Cheesemakers would be making the trip to state for the third straight year.

"When they called out our name, we were in a big huddle and we were full of excitement," Werth said. "State is an amazing feeling, oh my gosh. I can't believe all of our hard work has paid off."

A year ago, the Cheesemakers took ninth at state.

Each dancer has her own preference of style. Kajen Medenwaldt, a junior, said she prefers hip-hop because of the style's openness to try new moves and to be creative.

"Everything is fierce in hip-hop style," Medenwaldt said. "It's also super fun. It's a fun way to express yourself. I love performing in front of everyone."

Zastrow comes up with many of the routines, which only last for a week or two before new ones are developed, but sometimes the coach decides to hand the playbook over to the players. Medenwaldt and Werth have choreographed a number of routines.

"We get inspired from watching other teams perform and listening to music. We also take moves from other dances and make changes if something isn't working," Medenwaldt said. "Everyone on the team learns at their own pace, but we are always ready when it's time to perform."

The team begins practices in June and starts performing as the school year begins. Sometimes it's competitions against other schools; other times they run out onto the field at halftime of a football game or onto the court during basketball season.

"We'll do every home football game, four boys basketball games and four girls basketball games," Zastrow said. "We've done a wrestling meet, a soccer game and a volleyball game. It's cool to do new sports. It's fun for the fans too, I think, because otherwise they are just sitting around waiting for the second half to start."

On Friday, the dance team will host its annual Dance with the Cheesemakers day, in which they will teach dozens of local youth some dance moves and perform at halftime of the Monroe boys basketball game against Stoughton.

"The little kids are really fun, and they teach us a lot. You learn to be a leader. And the kids are just so excited and willing to do anything," Werth said.

Later this year, the team will pair up for a routine with a group of high school boys.

"The guys don't realize how hard it is, but it's really fun working with them," Werth said.

And for a senior like Werth, the end is coming all too fast. After four years on the squad, she knows her time left is limited. If either the boys or girls basketball team makes a run to the state tournament, there is a chance the dance team will be able to do one more performance in March.

"It's surreal for me, knowing this is the end and that I could be performing for the last time soon," Werth said.

But those emotions have been put on hold, because the dance team is at state, where all the butterflies flutter, smiles stretch from ear to ear and the team bond grows.

"I know what's going on now," Medenwaldt said, referring to her past experiences at state. "But that doesn't matter. It's so exciting to be there. Your competition might be in the morning, but no matter what, your adrenaline and energy wakes you up."

"Because of the bond we have, I think it's going to be a lot of fun," Phillips said. "I didn't know how exciting it would be (to reach state). I thought it was cool performing in front of the high school team."

Zastrow agrees.

"The most important thing is to see them bond. They help each other in and out of school, and they become a family," Zastrow said.