By Jenna Baker & Natalie Hanna

The Dance team had several firsts at their March 30 national competition, the last of the season. 

Three of the team’s dances made it to the Gala where only those who score in the top percentage for each category are invited to dance. This is the most dances the Granada Hills Charter (GHC) team has seen make it through. The dances that made it to the Gala were Medium Hip Hop, Small Hip Hop, and Small Contemporary. In the final round, they placed 3rd in both Small Hip Hop and Small Contemporary and 4th in Medium Hip Hop. The Medium Jazz also made it to the Gold category, which is also a first for GHC.

The soloists at this competition also did extremely well. Senior Jenna Scheider-Wisz placed second overall in the competition for Dancer of the Year from a total of over 220 soloists at Nationals, after placing third in the senior soloist category. Seniors Michelle Kwon and Arianna Terry also placed in the top eight of senior soloists, competing against about 85 other dancers. Junior Alondra Villalobos placed 5th for junior soloists out of 45 juniors as well.

To prepare for Nationals, the students on the dance team added extra practices to their schedule as well as extended the time of their practices after school. They did practices every day of the week leading into the competition. 

“It was bittersweet but I’m ready for the next chapter. It was really exciting going out there with my team and competing with them for the last and final time,” senior Michelle Kwon said. 

The Dance Team’s success at Nationals is just one set of wins after a very successful season. The team also scored very well at the State competition on March 2, qualifying them for Nationals. In the State competition, they participated in five different categories: Small Hip Hop, Large Hip Hop, Small Contemporary, Large Jazz, and Pom. There were two solos, also by Schneider-Wisz and Villalobos, and a duet included in the competition as well. 

Most of the dancers competed in all the categories. For State, they placed fourth in Large Jazz and Small Hip Hop and received the Sportsmanship award for their positivity and encouragement of other teams and each other, highlighting the spirit of teamwork.

The majority of the team was satisfied with the way the competitions went. Ending the season on a good note, the Dance Team is expecting more to offer for next season as students continue to practice and improve. 

“They worked hard all season and pushed themselves to redeem their season,” Dance Coach and English teacher Kani Kim said. “They worked hard to perfect each routine as a team, synchronizing movements, musicality, stamina, and energy. They competed amongst the best and I am proud of each and every one of them.”