Naomi Tsuang
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa dance team became national champions on Saturday at the Sharp International Las Vegas Nationals.
The Mustangs placed first in all three dance categories in which they performed: jazz, hip hop and lyrical. Individual team members also placed in solo dances judged by their technicality. The team’s overall point total gave them the win.
“Nationals, especially this year as a senior, [was] our final chance to give it our all,” senior dance team captain Samantha Lonergan said. “I hope that the team continues to work hard and succeed in all of their competitions, but also stay as close as we have for my four years of high school.”
In March and April, the dance team competed at two Sharp International regional competitions and one Golden State Spirit Association regional competition. The team placed first in lyrical, jazz, small jazz and two solos at Whittier High School on March 5, qualifying for nationals.
“We [kept] competing at regional competitions for more practice in preparation for Nationals, and it’s good exposure to perform in front of crowds and judges, and it paid off,” junior dance team captain Emily Duong said.
Right before nationals, Lonergan pulled her lower back, disabling her from dancing. This injury resulted in Lonergan’s solo lyrical piece and two group routines being called off.
“It was such a bummer having to cancel all those routines,” Lonergan said. “That means we lost out on many potential points, but luckily we were still able to take the victory.”
The team performed its jazz routine to the song “Too Original” by Major Lazer, their hip hop routine to a mashup of songs and their lyrical routine to the song “Compass” by Zella Day.
“The girls have worked so hard,” dance team coach Victoria Brown said. “We [performed] to our best ability and [felt] like we left it all out on the floor.”
Senior dance team captain Caprina Benson placed first with her solo piece, and Duong placed second in the same category. Sophomore Cami Benson and Ami Okamoto both placed first for best leaps in the group dances. Freshman Morgan Rysso placed third in best turns, and Duong placed fourth in best kicks.
“Having a solo puts a lot of responsibility and pressure on yourself because you don’t have your teammates by your side on stage,” Duong said. “However, in my solo I had the chance to display my strengths.”
The Mustangs’ competition and practice season are complete, but dancers will keep practicing on their own time to defend their national title.
“Leading up to Nationals, we put in a ton of practice day and night,” Duong said.
ww
Leave a Reply