Dance Appreciation, otherwise known as DA, is Aliso Niguel’s statewide recognized hip-hop team. Through being on this team, students can build their dancing skills, grow leadership experience and gain confidence.
The whole team is divided into three groups, small, medium and large, with small being varsity, medium being JV and large being everyone as a collective.
Members practice both in class and after school and have designated leadership roles for certain groups.
“DA is super awesome and has amazing leadership!” says Lieutenant Alina Martin (10). “We are very involved in making the choreography and how things move forward.”
Currently, the team is preparing for their annual Cabaret Night on Nov. 20 and for their competition season in the spring. They prepare through making new transitions, conditioning and blocking their sets.
Cabaret Night is a variety show put on by DA members where they perform their talents separate from dancing. Singing, playing instruments and video production are a few examples.
The purpose is to show the diversity and special skill sets each and every member have and it also displays their dedication to the team. Not only that, but they will also be exclusively presenting their sets for competition season, along with past pep rally choreographies.
For their competitions, the team has been prepping brand new sets with large being Justin Bieber-themed, medium being Beyoncé-themed and small dancing to “Haunted” by Beyoncé.
The comps are incredibly competitive as dance, especially hip-hop, requires much attention to detail and a passionate drive, so the dancers train rigorously with much discipline in order to compete at such a high level.
Their schedule is made up of large practices during fourth period as a whole in addition to medium and large practicing multiple times during the week. In addition to this, the team has conditioning sessions to grow their stamina, strength and endurance, which is crucial for competitive dancing.
There are currently 44 dancers on the dance team, most of which are female; however, thanks to the introduction of the all-new DA male team, there are a notable number of males as well. Our school’s team has not had an all-male team in 20 years, and they have already gathered much praise on their skills and stage presence.
The team is incredibly diverse in style, persona and background. This is incredibly important because they each display a unique flavor, further boosting the spunk and character of the group of dancers. This allows for their sense of place as a student at Aliso Niguel.
DA is a huge part of the culture at Aliso. Students always look forward to their trendy yet classy choreographies and the fun energy they bring at every pep rally and performance.
“Everyone has a super great mindset,” says Captain Avah Parsi (11). “We’re all really locked in and have that ‘in-it-to-win-it’ mentality, but are still having lots of fun!”
Whether it’s preparing for performances or just having fun together, the Dance Appreciation team continues to represent our school through their incredible talent, dedication and love for culture and the art of dance.
