Costa Dance is starbound

By Shannon Hagedorn
Staff Writer

The Mira Costa advanced dance class is now taking the stage at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center and has won gold in competitions held by Starbound dance organization.

The three-year-old dance class met its aspirations and expectations in its first competition by winning gold.
Seven girls were selected from the advanced dance class to learn a contemporary dance for the Starbound Dance Competition. Seniors Isabella Kato and Claire Voepel, juniors Summer Flanders, Ashley Green and Cydney Nichols, and sophomores Erin Jones and Kelsey Reinhardt were chosen to compete.

“The selection was made by watching the group as a whole and seeing how well they worked together,” dance teacher Yvonne Johnson said. “My decision was not about who was the best; rather, I selected the individuals based on their portrayal of emotions and their commitment to their movements.”

The group danced to Kate Nash’s “The Nicest Thing.” Guest choreographer Maurice Watson helped the girls learn a routine in March. He taught them weekly to refine the dance until the competition in May.

“Maurice came into class every Thursday to teach us and help us improve the dance. We practiced it several times every day to keep it fresh in our minds for the competition,” Voepel said.

Starbound Dance Company hosted the competition on May 23 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. Over two days, dancers ranging from ages five to 25 competed in solos, duets and small groups. Costa’s dancers competed in the small group contemporary dance category.

“Though Starbound is a very well-known competition circuit, the competition was not very well-run. However, the lack of organization didn’t matter to us because we were all just so excited to be there that it wasn’t a big deal,” Voepel said.

Competing was a new experience for some of the dancers of the group. Some dancers did not have prior competition experience.

“I was really proud that we received gold. It proved how capable we are as an up-and-coming force in the dance world,” Voepel said.