Dance Team started off its season strong with their first-ever competition Kick-Off, where teachers performed in the Staff Dancers of the Year competition. Team members and dancers from local studios had the opportunity to showcase their routines to prepare for the upcoming competitions.
Kick-Off was a fundraiser for the team’s approaching season and enabled the audience to get a glimpse of the routines that will be used for competitions. The event also featured guest performances from local studios such as Momentum by Dellos Dance Studio, Dancecapade and HD Dance. Some routines that were performed were “This Will Be” by Natalie Cole and “The Chain” by Ingrid Michaelson. The diverse array of performances brought the dance community together through their shared passion for the art form.
“We all came from the local dance studios around us, so it’s important to give back and be able to showcase them because we wouldn’t be anywhere without the studios that trained us,” Dance Team co-captain senior Kiara David said.
Along with the guest teams, Kick-Off featured the Staff Dancers of the Year competition. Participants executed routines taught by Dance Team officers and staff were split into three teams. The Big Ballers danced to “Get’cha Head in the Game,” from High School Musical and were made up of instructional dean Nelson Chen, principal Dr. Michele Lew and head basketball coach Joe Khouzam. The Divas included athletic trainer Victoria Vidales, social science teacher Justin Panlilio and CTE/ROP teachers Sheila Sebastian and Vanessa Pai. They used the song “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse for their performance. The Algebros were comprised of math teachers Sara Kang, Katie Meier and Pauline Mendoza and used the song “Freak the Freak Out” by the Victorious cast to perform their energetic routine. The competition concluded with the audience choosing The Big Ballers as the winners.
“I love to support the Dance Team. I danced when I was younger and have always appreciated it. We’re bringing a lot of people together [with the competition],” Mendoza said. “The Dance Team girls are super fun and very good teachers. We were able to learn [our routine] in two practices.”
Kick-Off commenced at 6:30 p.m. in the main gym. The team members performed a total of six routines such as the medium jazz routine “Big Noise” by Winnetka and the small lyrical routine “Intrusive Thoughts” by Natalie Jane. The rest of the dances included “Glamorous,” by Fergie, the team’s first ever pom routine to the song, “Dead in the Water,” by Ellie Goulding, a medium contemporary routine and “Lost” by Anouk, a medium lyrical routine. It ended with a kick routine to the song, “Where I Wanna Be,” by Jasmine Amy Rogers that exhibited the dancers’ flexibility and stage presence. The team performed the same competition routines that were featured in Winter Wishes except “Glamorous.” However, the show helped dancers adjust to the spotlight and enabled them to strengthen their cooperation skills.
“[Kick-Off] is the first big performance. It’ll make our whole team [experience] the feel of how competition will be in the season,” Dance Team member junior Savannah Huang said. “It’s an opportunity for us to use the gym floor and practice for our routine. I’m really excited, I can’t wait to start this season [with my team].”
In preparation for the event, dancers had after-school practices from Mondays to Thursdays with the exception of 6 a.m. practices on Wednesdays. Although it was the first competition Kick-Off, the dancers found success through their combined efforts, bonded and made new memories with each other.
“As a senior, it was my first time ever experiencing Kick-Off, so I didn’t know what to expect. It’s really special to be able to experience a first and last all in one,” David said. “To [perform] it [at] our home gym floor means a lot to me because a lot of our competitions are really far. It’s sad experiencing the last [few performances] with my senior class, but it was exciting and fun to be able to do that with my team and get out there before competition.” Ω
