San Dimas High School Dance Team attended West Coast Elite Nationals at the Long Beach Convention Center the weekend of March 14th through the 16th. After attending WCE regionals in February, the Dance Team continued on to Nationals this month! Varsity and JV both competed jazz and pom routines separately, along with the full team production, as well as with five brave soloists.
On March 14th, five soloists competed their solos against hundreds of other dancers. Held in the ballrooms of the Westin hotel in Long Beach, both Silver and Gold colonists competed for the chance to place in the Top 25. Making the Top 25 for each grade is a massive accomplishment, and one of our Junior soloists did just that. Janiya Jones, 9th grade, was the first soloist of the entire competition. She competed her solo “Pure Love” at 7:00am, followed by Bryce Andrew, 9th grade, at 7:02am doing her solo entitled “Waves”. At 9:26am, Amara Padilla, 10th grade, competed against all of the other sophomores with her solo “Lost in the Ocean”. Then it was time for the last two soloists of SDHS, 11th graders Tess McDonald and Farrah Carrey – Tess competed her solo “This is What Healing Feels Like” at 12:32pm, and right after Farrah competed her solo “For Emily” at 12:34pm. The caliber of competition at West Coast Elite was like nothing these girls had seen before, but each one of them did a spectacular job representing San Dimas High School. At the first award ceremony of the competition, the Top 25 of each grade level and division was announced…Farrah Carrey placed 22nd out of 81 Junior soloists!!
Saturday morning the Dance Team met in front of the Long Beach Convention Center at 6:00am ready for a long day of competition. After passing through security, they rushed to secure a good spot in the dressing rooms which was no easy task with so many other teams looking as well. Coach Brooke secured a spot in one of the best rooms, right next to the Arena where the girls would be dancing, and it even had a private bathroom! This room, as silly as it sounds, set the stage for the perfect weekend of competition. “Our dressing room was right behind the stage where we would perform, it was great!” Amber Liu exclaimed.
At 7:02am, Varsity Jazz took the floor. They competed their routine “Give It To Me Baby” choreographed by Coach Brooke and did a spectacular job. This routine surpassed their score at West Coast Elite Regionals, which became a common theme for all of the following dances. After Varsity Jazz, the team was set loose. They split into groups, and along with parent and coach chaperones some girls got breakfast, others watched routines inside the arena, and others talked to the college recruit teams that attended the competition. Some of the girls even created a new card game which they called “Feet Off the Table” along with Coach Brooke. At 11:30am the team met back in the dressing room to prepare for the awards ceremony starting at noon. At awards, Farrah Carrey placed 22nd for her solo “For Emily” which is dedicated to her best friend, Emily Gold, who recently passed away. Her solo was choreographed by Marco Mejia and is a tribute to Emily.
After the awards ceremony, the team walked to Islands for a team lunch. The girls enjoyed burgers, wings, and had a great time bonding with their teammates. Also at lunch, they toasted to their soloist who placed in Top 25. When they finished eating, they walked back to the Convention Center to peepers for their next dances.
At 4:58pm Varsity Jazz competed their routine “Silent Screamer” choreographed by Coach Brooke competed. And later at 6:45pm, JV Jazz “It’s Easy” choreographed by Coach Diana competed. Each of these routines also beat their scores from WCE Regionals!
After JV Jazz competed, the team headed to their hotel for the night – the Hilton which was only a short walk away from the Convention Center. The team split up into their rooms, ate dinner, and then some girls headed down to the pool for some after-comp-fun with Coach Brooke. “We had so much fun swimming around and being silly” said Jessica Liu, junior. “Swimming around and playing games was such a great way for us to bond after such a long competition day,” Tess McDonald, junior, added. After spending about an hour at the pool, the girls headed upstairs back into their respective rooms and got a good nights rest for their next day of competition.
The next morning, alarms starting blaring at 4:30am. “I was exhausted but so excited for another great day of competition!” said Tess McDonald. Many of the girls got up, despite their aching muscles and tired bodies, to start getting ready for their Production Number “Pirates”. This amazing routine was cheorhraphed by not only Coach Diana and Cocah Brooke, but also SD Alumni Lauren Boyd who is apart of the Broadway production of Hamilton. “Having Lauren choreograph our production and hip-hop routine was truly unforgettable!” Jessica Liu told. At 6:15am the team headed over to the Convention Center. “Pirates” went on stage at 7:48am and later that day at 12:14pm JV Pom “Call the Shots” competed. Each of the routines the Dance Team competed beat their previous scores, which is the whole point of Nationals! “I’m extremely proud of our entire team, I think as well as our National Title all of our routines were super strong and we should all be proud!” Jessica Liu told the Saint Scroll. Awards for this segment of the competition took place at 2:15pm, little did the team know that they would be making SDHS history once again…
At the awards ceremony, “Pirates” was announced as the National Champion of the Production category at West Coast Elite Nationals! This is the second National-Title that the SD Dance Team has taken. Last year, their Novelty Musical Theater routine “Oz” won at USA Nationals. These last two years have been fantastic for the Dance Team as these are their first ever National wins! “Being on the team the last two years has been a dream come true, these National Titles we’ve won are a massive deal” explained Tess McDonald.
