Alanna Williamson
The "extra small group" performers from the Palo Alto Dance teams' jazz/contemporary piece "Eight" points to their first-place award in United Spirit Associations National Competition March 23 in Anaheim, California. According to dance team sophomore officer Karin Blumenfeld, the pressure of continuing the team winning streak was a standout moment at nationals. "A big mindset this year coming off of two wins in the previous year after not having won for a very long time was the expectation on us to win," Blumenfeld said. "There have been so many years where we haven't [won] and we were definitely super nervous, but we pulled through."
The Palo Alto High School Dance team secured first place in the United Spirit Association national competition in March 23 Anaheim, California.
Competing with three numbers in the intermediate division, the Dance Team: placed first in a jazz/contemporary, third in hip hop dance and fifth in contemporary.
Alanna Williamson, dance coach and English teacher, said the first-place dance achieved an exceptionally high score compared to the usual range for its division.
“Our extra-small piece, ‘Eight,’ scored an 89, which is unheard of,” Williamson said. “Most teams in intermediate score around 83-86, so to get an 89 was crazy.”
Senior co-captain Ami Kaneko said many obstacles came with the competition, but winning made it all worthwhile.
“It[winning] was a moment that really makes all of our hard work we put in to prepare for all of our dances very worth it,” Kaneko said. “It’s been hard for us in terms of USA changing a lot of their competition rules, and with so many new teams competing, we really didn’t know what to expect.”
According to sophomore dancer Orly Schube, sweeping the competition at regionals energized the team going into nationals.
“At USA [United Spirit Association] Dance Regionals, all three of our groups won first place,” said Scube. “This was the first clean sweep in Paly Dance history, so it was a big moment for us and gave us the confidence we needed going into Nationals.”
The team spent six months preparing for the USA national competition, starting with choreographing in September and October. According to senior co-captain Vit Do, the team puts a lot of work and effort into competition days.
“We woke up at 5 a.m. every day and we practiced or competed till 10 p.m.,” Do said. “It was definitely very stressful, but it was worth it in the end.”
Sophomore officer Karin Blumenfeld said a standout moment was making the parents proud.
“Winning was huge,” Blumenfeld said. “All the parents were super supportive and cheered so loudly when we came out after awards. It was so special to make them proud.”
According to Williamson, she believes the team won with hard work, not just talent.
“I’m just a very, very proud coach,” Williamson said. “It takes more than talent to win a national competition—you really have to work together as a team. And at Nationals, we had no weak links. We were all together, and it was really strong.”
The dance team is looking for new members, and auditions to be a part of the team are coming up on April 15-18(Audition Interest form on the Paly Dance Instagram bio). According to Kaneko, the team inspires and provides an amazing experience to the dancers.
“It’s a very welcoming place with a very vibrant positive atmosphere,” Kaneko said. “Everyone is here to perform at their best, support one another, and here to enjoy the moment we have and to show the mutual love and respect we have for this sport.”
Training all year round, the dance team is off to its next challenge and will have a spring show in the Performance Arts Center on May 30, where you can see these award-winning routines.