Dance Force Competes at Nor Cal Dance Classic and places 1st

By Brienna Burr

On Saturday February 11, 2023, Redwood Dance Force was up bright and early to head up to Cupertino, California to compete in the USA North California Dance Classic hosted at Monta Vista High School. 

The team met at the Redwood Student parking lot at 4:20 AM and arrived in Cupertino around 8:00 AM. Dance Force spent most of their ride sleeping, but they had to go through the struggle of doing their hair and makeup on the bus. 

Dance Force competed two of their dances. They competed a lyrical piece, “The Lonely” choreographed by Aubrey Langer, and a hiphop piece, “Cash Money” choreographed by Isaac Saesee. 

Tegan Horton, ‘23, says “I thought the competition was really great and well organized, and it was so wonderful to watch the team come together as the competition came closer.”

Horton also adds that “It was evident that all of our hard work paid off.” 

Horton got the opportunity to take a solo to compete at the competition. She says “it was such a great experience, and opportunity to compete a solo this past weekend. I was a little bit nervous in  the week before the competition because I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into it, but I am so glad to have been able to get out there and leave it all on stage.” 

Horton concludes, “Competing a solo led me to feel more prepared for Nationals which I am so grateful for.” 

Sadie Hemphill, ‘25, says “My favorite part of the competition was hanging out with the team between dances and during the day.”

Hemphill says “We all had a lot of fun spending time with each other and we were all pleased with how our hard work paid off.” 

Hemphill also says “The competition really helped the team strengthen our bond and we were really proud of ourselves. We worked really hard on the weeks leading up to the competition and we were really nervous about doing well and qualifying for Nationals, but everything went well which made us all happy and helped us grow closer as a team.” 

Mrs. Lapp, Dance Force Advisor, says “I think participating in competitions has helped our team raise expectations. It is important for the team to strive to get better as individuals and as a group.” 

Lapp also says “I feel like there was a switch that happened after our first competition. The team pulled together and really dug deep to perfect the competition routines.”

Lapp says that the team “seems to thrive off the pressure of competing.” 

Mrs. Lapp is “so excited for Nationals in March” and so is the team.

The team has competed at USA Regionals in the past, but this is the first time they have competed at the Nor Cal Classic. 

Dance Force got 1st place large group varsity hip hop, 1st place medium group varsity lyrical, qualified for The USA Dance Nationals in the Championship Division, which is the top division.

Tags: arts, arts & entertainment, arts and entertainment, dance, dance force, danceforce, redwood high school