NPHS dance team competes their way to the top
Since July, the Newbury Park High School [NPHS] dance team has been preparing for their competition season, which began on Jan. 11 with the West Coast Elite Competition at Westlake High School. Training multiple times a week, inside and outside of scheduled class time, the team walked away with numerous high-placing awards.
As a four-year member on the dance team, Destiny Nash, senior, has achieved a much broader perspective over time, having a closer understanding of the coaches’ suggestions. Going into the competition season, Nash knows the precedent set by previous years in competition placements and overall preparedness, providing the team with goals to strive for. “Every year we want to get better and continue to prove ourselves. Uniting as a group is super important to us and just dancing together as one,” Nash said. Despite competing against each other in the solo section, the dance team prioritizes supporting each other as the foundation of the group. “It’s [essential] that we are showing love and support to each other during competition so that’s another thing I make sure to look out for and motivate people to focus on.”
After months of preparation, their first dance competition of the season officially began at 9:07 a.m., starting with the freshman solo performances. Reily Phillips, freshman, competed her solo for the first time around ten minutes later, placing first out of all freshman soloists, leading her to compete it again later in the day against all grades of solo finalists. Phillips ended up placing second overall, but this competition was not without its difficulties. “[The biggest challenge is] probably nerves, [the thought] that I’m going to be the reason that the team doesn’t do well or that I’m not gonna do well,” Phillips said.
These competitions, as well as dance in general, allows for many students to express themselves in a unique way. Taylor Griggs, senior, is a first-year member on the dance team, but has been dancing since she was three. Dancing to “Jes Suis Malade” by Lara Fabian for her solo, Griggs has been able to communicate her feelings without words. “For me dance is an outlet to express things words can’t. There is so much expression behind movement,” Griggs said.
Following the solo performances, NPHS began competing their group dances at 2:39 p.m., presenting a total of seven dances, each with their own style and number of dancers. This quick switch between solo to group performances threw out a set of mindset challenges, preparing the team for growth in all types of dance styles. “For solos, I’d say it’s probably more nerve racking since you are out there by yourself so it’s more of a mental game not psyching yourself out before you go on. But for group dances we have to all dance exactly in unison and be the exact same as the person next to us,” Nash said.
Wrapping up a full day of competing and cheering each other on, the NPHS dance team achieved the award of Runner Up Grand Champions, as well as many first place awards for group dances. The NPHS dance team has multiple upcoming competitions, learning new perspectives and pushing to reach their goals. As the team captain, Nash hopes to continue supporting her teammates, and passing all of her knowledge down to underclassmen. “My role as the team captain is really just being an extension of my coaches and being a leader to the team making sure we are all always on the same page and have the right mindset,” Nash said.
