Chapelle Hi-Steppers Dance Team

Start the school year off with this amazing opportunity to dance with the Archbishop Chapelle Hi-Stepper dance team and learn from the head coach of the Southeastern Lionettes, Layla Ruffin (bio below).

Saturday, August 22, 2026
1:00-6:00 PM
Chapelle Gym
Cost: $45.00
Open to dancers in grades 4th-7th for the 26-27 school year.

Click here to register: https://www.hisawyer.com/chapelle/schedules/activity-set/1978069?source=camps

Layla Ruffin is a dance coach, choreographer, instructor, and judge with a passion for developing confident, versatile, and driven athletes. She currently serves as the Head Coach of the Southeastern Louisiana University Lionettes, a program she is proud to have once been a member of herself.

Throughout her career, Layla has contributed to two national championship titles—one at the NDTC high school level and one at the UDA College National Championship level. Her experience spans both high school and collegiate dance, giving her a unique perspective on preparing dancers for the next level.

In addition to coaching the Lionettes, Layla has served as an Assistant Coach at Destrehan High School, an instructor at Dance Unlimited of Destrehan, and a dance team judge since 2019. Her coaching philosophy centers around strong technique, performance quality, accountability, confidence, and creating a team culture where dancers are challenged to grow both as athletes and individuals.

As a coach, Layla is passionate about raising the standard, creating meaningful opportunities for dancers, and helping athletes become the strongest versions of themselves on and off the floor."

Our June Steppie of the Month is Claire Johnston! 🎉

Your hard work and dedication do not go unnoticed, and we are so proud of everything you bring to our team. Congratulations and keep shining!!! 💚🌟🥳

We celebrated our April, June, and July birthday steppies with donuts after practice, along with a special donut and birthday gift to one of our coaches, Woody!!!

We are so grateful for everything you do for us, Woody, and we hope all of our birthday Steppies had an amazing day! 🥳🍩🎉

We had a blast with our Acorn campers the first week of June! We went across the floor, showed off our sassiest walks, and learned parts of dances the Hi-Steppers performed at games and other events. At the end of the week, the campers received green sparkly bows for their performances at the Fun Friday assembly. Everyone did an amazing job, and we had so much fun! 🤩

Happy Father’s day to our biggest cheerleaders! We can always count on y’all to cheer the loudest in the crowd and support us every step of the way. Thank y’all for everything y’all do for us. We are truly blessed with the best Steppie dads around💞☺️

It’s official! Our Senior Steppies received their senior sashes. We can’t wait to see what this year holds for each of you! 🥹💚🌟

This year the Hi-Steppers attended Dance Team Union camp at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. The girls performed their home routine, learned a game day routine, learned and performed an individual evaluation routine, did some team bonding, and learned and performed their showcase routine. This truly was a great experience and can’t wait to show off our new dances throughout the new school year.

While at camp the following honors were received:
Home Routine award with a Rankings invitation
Showcase Routine award with a Rankings invitation
Outstanding Artistry award for our Home Routine
Our Captain, Makenzie, won the Dance Battle for Improv
Staff choice pins were presented to three team members as standouts throughout camp:
Co-Captain, Kaia
Senior, Julia
Sophomore, Jordan

Wishing the happiest Mother’s Day to all moms, but especially our steppie moms! Thank you for being our biggest cheerleaders and the best dance moms out there! 💐💞🐿️

Meet the 2026-2027 Chapelle Hi-steppers. We can’t wait for this upcoming season with the best group of girls!!! 🌟💚☺️💐