After five years, the school’s dance team is back and ready to bust a move. Seven girls, ranging from freshmen to juniors, along with their coach, Dinishia Nichols, have been working hard to make an outstanding impression at the upcoming performances, rallies and competitions.
“Since this is the first year for the dance team, we hope to make a good impression and get our name out there so the school knows who we are,” junior co-captain Joy Tang said. Other members of the team are freshmen Caroline Li, Chih-Shuan Hsu and Ellen Wu; sophomore Jenna Chen; and juniors Allison Chan and Madison Seagraves.
Most of the members have an extensive history in dance. Tang started dancing with the Yaoyong Dance company at the age of 5, and junior co-captain Seagraves has been dancing since she was 3. Seagraves’ skilled background in dance will help raise the level of intensity in the team as well as support dancers with less experience.
To prepare for the season, the girls started practicing in July and went to a summer dance camp at UC Santa Cruz. They danced from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., refining techniques and seeing other dance teams in action.
“Our team is somewhat small compared to other teams, but it’s the quality that matters, not the quantity,” Tang said.
In addition, the dance team has their new coach to help them and push them to do better. Nichols started as assistant coach of the cheerleading team last spring, and has now taken over as head coach for the cheerleading squad and dance team.
She balances her time to teach both groups during the week, spending around two hours with the dance team on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the rest of the weekdays with the cheer team. The coaching is tough and expectations are high, but Tang feels that it improves their dancing.
“What I like about [Nichols] is that she always pushes us to be better and do our best. She never settles with what looks only OK,” Tang said.
Although many compare the dance team to cheerleading, there are several major differences between the two. The dance team will focus on detailed technique and expressing themselves through complex moves that requires every member to be flexible. In contrast, the cheer team aims to fire up crowds at sports events and practices difficult stunts as well as sharper moves.
The girls will begin competitions in October, but specific competitions and dates have not been decided by the coach. Tang hopes they will compete at Nationals in the spring.
Students will be able to see them at rallies and football games throughout the year. Their first performance for the school took place during the first rally on Aug. 23.
The team danced with energy and received a lot of positive feedback from students and teachers.
“I thought they were amazing,” junior Neha Anand said. “It was great to see another new team at school, especially since it added to the school spirit at the rally.”
Senior Jane Chang also appreciated the team’s performance.
“It was pretty obvious to everyone who saw them that they had put a lot of time and effort into the team, which is definitely admirable!” Chang said.
