DA Earns 2nd Place at Recent Competition

On Saturday, Feb.26, Aliso Niguel’s Dance Appreciation team competed at West High School in Torrance. This was the team’s first appearance at a competition since the beginning of the pandemic making it an exceptionally exciting moment for the members of the group and their coach.

The team received second place in the Large Coed Hip Hop Division; a significant accomplishment given that it has been over a year since they have been in a competition environment.

The coach for DA, Jasmine Orcaz,expressed how she was tremendously proud of the competitors and how they represented Aliso Niguel. 

   “Everyone was so supportive of each other and our fellow competing schools” explained Coach Orcaz. 

She adds that good sportsmanship is a priority within Dance Appreciation and that as a coach she tries to “cultivate an enthusiastic and positive team culture”.

Both of the divisions performed especially well displaying the skills they have been practicing for several months. A noteworthy performance was demonstrated by the Small Female Division that most certainly contributed to their final placement. 

With COVID-19 restrictions that limited DA’s ability to compete becoming more relaxed, many of the members are eager to continue competing. 

For instance, one of the captains Jessica Chao (12) described that she’s “looking forward to seeing all the different teams compete, and seeing all the sets they’ve been working on.” She also expressed that she was proud of the performances the team put on at the competition considering that there are a significant number of new members.

Similarly, the other captain of DA, Diana Orate (12), further explained that the new members are adjusting well to the team.
“Even after difficult practices, they push to keep going and they help each other when they don’t understand something” she commented.

The DA team exhibited great showmanship and liveliness at their first competition and hope to carry on this same enthusiasm in the future. 

Coach Orcaz adds that she looks forward to “being present in the exciting high energy at competitions” and being able to observe the hard work her students have put into practice be realized.