The dance team has amazed the students for years by performing in many special events. Their dances, their style of clothing, and stage presence always find a way to boost the school spirit. The year started strong for the dance team as their performance on the first assembly went smoothly.
After the first assembly, I realized I wanted to audition for the dance team. I have always enjoyed dancing and found it as a way to express myself.
The dance team recently had auditions on September 13, 2024. They plan to have another audition next semester and have given some advice to those trying out.
“I will just smile. That’s all we’re looking for. Like, yeah, know the moves. Yes, do the moves well? But we just want a student that has good energy, that smiles, that can get along with everybody, but we love a good person with a lot of good energy with them,” Bianca Garcia, the vice president of the dance team said.
Garcia has expressed the importance of having a positive attitude and good energy. Denise Loaiza, the president of the dance team, has also emphasized the value of practice and showing enthusiasm during auditions.
“Well, just practice the choreography, even if you’re not practicing as a team. Practicing on your own is very important, especially because it shows your dedication. And then one of the main things that we look for is whether you look like you’re having fun. So showing your energy and being able to express it is very important, smiling,” Loaiza said.
Being on the dance team includes many things: energy, commitment, a unified look, style, and familiarity with diverse genres of music like hip-hop, Latin pop, and K-Pop. This year, the dance team did a few things differently, including the audition process. Instead of choreographing their own dance, applicants were taught a routine because the cabinet wanted to see how effectively they performed in practice, how well they memorized the dance, and how they treated others during practice.
“Our club is focused on bringing fun and school spirit to our performances. We usually perform for pep rallies and assemblies, and we just want to get the crowd filled with energy and fun,” Garcia said.
The dance team has brought energy into the crowd and boosts school spirit during the events such as assemblies or pep rallies. Students saw them during the first assembly performing various dance styles to amaze the audience and inspire more students to join the team.
“As for dance style, we try to mix it up. For example, a couple years back, it was more hip hop based, and not really reggaeton, but more Spanish music. And then last year we started incorporating more K-Pop and more different types of dances. We do try different types of styles, we are mainly focused on hip hop,” Loaiza said.
The dance team mainly focuses on hip-hop, but they are open to various genres like K-pop and Spanish music. They even take song and dance style suggestions from students. The variety of dance styles has an impact on the type of clothing they wear to the events.
“We do have jerseys for team members. Most of the time we do perform with them, but since right now, we have new members, we won’t be performing with them, and we usually have the members come up with their own outfits. They can go with whatever style they’re most comfortable in. But we do make sure that we all come in the same colors, around the same colors. We just let everybody else have the freedom to decide whether they wear bootcut, jeans, baggy jeans. If there is a dance with robotic moves we prefer they wear baggy clothes, but you could wear whatever you want, as long as it goes with the color theme,” Garcia said.
The dance team is flexible with their fashion choices as their outfits always seem to have similar colors, but each member adds a twist to their outfit.
Both the president and co-vice president have advised participants of next year. They are open to all individuals and see the dance team as a place to have fun.
“It’s really fun. We’re like a family. Basically, we have a lot of fun practices, and it’s been a good time,” Garcia said.
The dance team is where you can have fun and meet new people to foster a community that feels like a family. Team members have responsibilities like practicing on their own, arriving to practice on time, and having fun with the team.
This year I have been accepted into the dance team and have had my first performance during the first pep rally. I am looking forward to all the performances during assemblies and other pep rallies. I hope to create an energized atmosphere with the dance team and have fun while doing it.
