Aliso Niguel’s Dance Appreciation team brought home first place in all three of their divisions at the Cal Pac Championships at Sonora High School on March 15. The theme of the day was “Shades at Sonora,” and they won first place in Small All Gender Hip Hop, Medium Female Hip Hop and Large All Gender Hip Hop.
The DA advisor, Kelli Murphy, stated that DA’s win “was a season first for us. The kids worked really hard, and their hard work really paid off for them.”
The team’s coaches, Jasmine Orcaz and David Le also worked incredibly hard to lead this team to their incredible accomplishment at Sonora.
One of the team’s dancers, Avery Reyes (12), states that “My favorite thing about my coaches is their ability to bring out the best in everyone and their genuine care for the team! Since the start of the season, I’ve witnessed so much growth in every member because of the time and effort our coaches put in! They make us feel cared for and comfortable to make mistakes and grow.”
Avah Parsi (11) is one of DA’s captains, and she shares, “I am so proud of my team for Sonora, it was such a fun comp with a team dinner at the end! I saw my team working very hard for the win and I am so happy they were rewarded for their hard work.”
In regard to their hard work, Parsi said that her team is very responsible and has “been able to keep and not lose any costumes, having so many. They have been cleaning their stations very well and helped set things up when asked… During practices they are very responsible to take corrections and apply them to their dancing.”
Every member of DA shares a great love not only for their dancing and performing but also for their fellow team members and the program.
This sentiment is seen in Reyes as she states, “My favorite part about DA is the family we have built. The team gets along so well and it’s always a fun time being with them! I am most proud of how the team has grown since my freshman year.”
The program has leveled up every year with the team growing bigger and the improvement of our pieces and every member of the team has been so gratifying to be a part of and watch.”
Murphy commented on this and shares, “My favorite thing about being the advisor for DA is being able to see the students grow from when they start as a Freshman and then to see how much they improve over the course of four years to become a senior.”
DA is a very impressive program that holds a lot of accomplishments. While they do have small teams that are made up of their top dancers who win a lot of competitions, they also have a very strong group of dancers who make up the large team.
Some of their most loved performances include their appearances at student pep rallies, and in addition to their big win, DA’s Medium Female team also recently performed at the Clash of the Classes Pep Rally.
Furthermore, DA hosted their Aliso Dance Classic at Aliso Niguel where they had several schools at ANHS competing all day long this past weekend, and now the team is currently preparing for the CADTD State Championships at Fountain Valley High School.
As DA is an adored and lively group on campus, Aliso Niguel is proud of their big win at Sonora and the team is excited for what’s to come.
