On December 13, 2025, Granada Hills Charter (GHC) hosted the West Coast Elite (WCE) dance competition. This was the first time the school has hosted a regional competition.
The competition included nearly 250 dancers from 15 schools performing group and solo routines to styles such as lyrical, jazz, contemporary, and hip hop. These styles were further categorized as small, medium, or large depending on the number of dancers performing.
GHC’s varsity dance team had a variety of eight solos and four group routines: medium jazz consisting of all 12 of the dancers, medium hip hop consisting of all 12, small hip hop with eight, and small contemporary with six.
The dance team placed first in small hip hop, second in small contemporary, second in medium hip hop, and fourth in medium jazz. Sophomores Emily Miranda and Zachary Sanchez placed second and third for their solos. They also placed top ten for Dancer of the Year (top ten soloists) for the entire competition.
“They definitely come together as a team, not just in the sense of dancing in unison, but moving cohesively as one unit, one team,” dance coach Kani Kim said. “The three to six hour practices four times a week are hard for them, but their collective focus is to be better and do better, and they pull it off. We were very proud of that.”
Competing in home territory gave the dancers a sense of relief and accomplishment when it came to representing their school spirit. Their close proximity elevated both their energy, and their results.
“We were thankful that we practiced a lot in the gym,” senior Melanie Caoyonan said. “We ran the dances over and over, and did conditioning. As the hosts, we also decorated the gym to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable. I think performing at Granada felt a lot calmer for me since I know the area well, and we were able to practice in our own gym and dance room.”
Nationals will be held in March at the Long Beach Convention Center.