When Austin senior Maya Wuertz takes to the floor at the Minnesota Class AA state dance meet in Target Center in Minneapolis this Saturday, she won’t just be dancing for herself. She’ll be dancing for her two older sisters and her family, who have been involved with the Packer dance team for 13 of the 16 straight years the team has gone to state.

Maya’s older sisters Megan and Maddie were former Packer dancers and they both were an influence in Maya giving up gymnastics after 12 years to join the dance team five years ago.

“I always looked up to my sisters and being able to watch them dance and compare myself to them is something I’ve always done,” Maya said. “You know you can trust their feedback and you know that they’re giving accurate feedback. It’s not like they’re just saying things to make you feel good. They’re truly telling you things to make you a better person and a better dancer. They know what they’re talking about.”

Austin head coach Kayla Sellers has a special relationship with the Wuertz family as she competed with Megan and she also coached Maddie in her first year as coach.

“Losing their family is kind of hard, because they’ve always been that APDT staple family,” Sellers said.

The APDT is filled with family connections as at least eight dancers have a sister on the team or had a sister compete on the team before them. Senior Abby Miller competed with her older sister Kendra for one year when Abby was an eighth grader and Kendra was a senior. That year had a lasting impact on Abby, who still gets advice from Kendra.

“It was really special for our whole family, especially for our mom to see us dance together,” Abby said. “She’s actually gone on to coach her own dance team and she still gives me feedback and has tips for our team. She’s still part of it, even though she’s not on the floor with me.”

Austin senior Lauryn Bell has found a closer connection with her eighth grade sister on APDT this season. The two have grown closer through dance and they actually stand together on the kick line.

“It’s been kind of interesting watching her come in on the first day kind of new and weak and I’ve watched her grow stronger,” Lauryn said. “It’ll be cool to have her dance with me on the state floor. It’s bittersweet because it’s my last, but it’s her first.”

While Kennedy said Lauryn can be a bit demanding when she offers a critique, she has grown closer to her older sister while competing with her this season.

“I used to not like her very much, but I’m thinking about missing her now,” Kennedy said. “[Lauryn’s] helped me become better, but she’s also hard on me. She tells me what I’m doing wrong and she never really tells me what I’m doing right. Mostly what I’m doing wrong.”

Lauryn said most of her advice is meant to help Kennedy improve as a dancer and she’s embraced having her only sister on the team with her during her senior year.

“I think it strengthens our family bond because we’re with each other more and more and we’re doing the same thing,” Lauryn said.”We love each other more.”

Both Bell sisters have shown improvement throughout the season as they’ve pushed each other on the floor to get better.

“They’re both very competitive and I think Kennedy has pushed Lauryn maybe even more than Lauryn has pushed her, because Lauryn wants to out-do her little sister,” Sellers said. “It’s been fun to watch.”

The Packers will compete at 2 p.m. on Saturday and the finals are scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m.

Maya said she’s ready to be the last Wuertz to dance on the sport’s biggest stage.

“We’re ready to put this dance on the state floor, because this dance is meant for the state floor,” Maya said. “We’re hoping to get to finals.”