Photo= Students of the dance club who won three awards in international competition (Meitoku High School, Nishikyo Ward, Kyoto)

The powerful dance club of Kyoto Meitoku High School, in Nishikyo Ward, Kyoto, won in the hip hop category and the overall international champion at the international competition, "American Dance/Drill Team International" held in March in the United States. It was also their first time to receive a special award. The team members and their coach are delighted to have earned the long-cherished "three awards," saying, "It's all thanks to the support from the people around us. We are very happy to be able to repay them for their help."

The team participated in the international competition in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014, winning the championship in the hip hop category in each of the competitions. They also won overall champion twice. This time, the team was also selected as the "most impressive team," a special award given to only two of the 150 teams.

Their two-minute-17-second performance used the movie, "Matrix" as their motif. It was more challenging in expressiveness, technique and stamina than previous performances. Instead of kung fu as in the movie, they adopted karate to emphasize a Japanese touch. The 20 dancers selected out of the 100 team members to appear on the stage received vigorous applause.

The students underwent constant strenuous training in preparation for the real event. They covered a part of the travel costs by participating in local events and through other measures. Makiko Iwakura, the team coach, said, "I have taught my students rigorously that they can challenge the world thanks to the support from those around them. They have marvelously achieved this result."

Rina Shizuse, the new team captain and a third-year student residing in Settsu City, Osaka Prefecture, entered the school from Tokyo aspiring to participate in the international competition. Looking forward, she said, "I was really happy to have realized my dream together with my teammates. I want to lead the new team to be stronger to live up to being a world champion."