Zyanna Harris, 10, was killed in Monday’s school bus crash. Photo provided by TarՄajah Rucker.
Zoie Nash, 9, was killed in a bus crash on Talley Road on Monday. Photos provided by Larry Hunt. 
A local dance team is hosting a competition Saturday to remember two young girls who were killed when a Woodmore Elementary School bus careened off the road Nov. 21.
Both of the girls were dancers. Zyanna Harris, 10, danced with Ladies of Excellence, while her good friend Zoie Nash, 9, danced with another local team, Royal Envy.
The Ladies of Excellence dance team is holding the memorial dance competition in the Rossville Athletic Center at 301 Williams St. at 2 p.m. Saturday, organizer Brittany Grayson said. Teams can register to compete for $25 each.
The event is open to the public, and organizers ask each spectator either to pay a $10 entry fee or bring an unwrapped toy to be donated to the families of the six children who died in the bus crash.
“We just wanted to do something for the families,” Grayson said.
Toys also can be dropped off at the Washington Hills Recreation Center today and Friday, she said.
While Zoie and Zyanna danced on different teams, the two girls were close friends who often hung out and danced together. In videos posted to social media, the two girls perform funny, short routines for the camera.
Zyanna was shy when she first started dancing, Grayson said, but once she broke out of her shell, she was rambunctious.
“You couldn’t keep her still then,” she said with a laugh. “She was always respectful. She didn’t like trying new things, but once she got the hang of it, she was good to go.”
Zyanna had recently taken a break from the team to focus on boosting her grades, Grayson said. She was planning to return to dance on Jan. 1.
The Ladies of Excellence team includes just over 40 girls ages 6 to 17, Grayson said. The team was started in 2011 and travels to competitions across the state.
The littlest things would make Zyanna laugh during practice, said Johneisha Griffin, a fellow dancer. Zyanna was always smiling, always laughing. Sometimes she’d lose focus during practice and someone would have to say her name to snap her back – but then she always refocused and was ready to go.
Zyanna had a mature streak too, Johneisha said. Once on a dance trip, Zyanna knocked on her hotel room door and asked to come inside and sleep because the girls in her own room were staying up late.
“It was so funny at the time because you would think she would want to play too, but she was [like] ‘No, I want to sleep,'” Griffin said. “She was a very strong girl. She would not let anyone get her down.”
Contact staff writer Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com with tips or story ideas. Follow @ShellyBradbury.