Fort Mill High Dance Team says forget the cookies. Have breakfast with Santa

It’s the time of year again to enjoy waffles with the big, jolly man in red and help support the Fort Mill High School Dance Team as it gets ready to journey to Orlando for a New Year’s performance.

The team’s annual Breakfast with Santa fundraiser will be held Saturday, December 10 in the R-wing commons of Fort Mill High School, with seating times of 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m.

“This is the same great event that the community has grown to love,” said Liz Dukes, dance team head coach. “There will be vendors, crafts and pictures with Santa.”

The dance team will perform a Rockettes style holiday themed montage, she said.

“This is one of our favorite performances of the year,” Dukes said.

The breakfast is the team’s last event to raise the rest of the $20,000 it needs to support the trip to Orlando, where the dancers have been invited to perform in the Buffalo Wings Citrus Bowl pregame performance on New Year’s Eve. They will perform with the Universal Dance Association.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to perform in this venue with a crowd of this size,” Dukes said.

The team was invited to participate in the performance after attending the Universal Dance Association camp at Wake Forest University in July, where they received a superior team rating based on choreography, team leadership and home routine placement, Dukes said.

That rating includes a bid to compete at the UDA National Dance Team Championship and an invitation to the BWW Citrus Bowl.

“The team is excited to have the opportunity to perform without the stress of competition,” Dukes said.

The Fort Mill High dancers already hosted an invitation competition for middle and high school dance teams from North and South Carolina, a Jacket Dynasty Dance Camp and other fundraising efforts, Dukes said. Breakfast with Santa is one way the community can support the team while reveling in the holiday spirit.

This story was originally published November 28, 2016 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Fort Mill High Dance Team says forget the cookies. Have breakfast with Santa."