Redwood Dance Force comes back after a competitive competition on January 17th in Clovis, placing 6th.
By: Brisa Magana
Redwood Dance Force hit the stage in Clovis on January 17th, putting full Ranger pride into their second competition of the season.
Dance Force performed their Pom routine in a D1 competition, CIF, placing 6th, never letting the crowd down by giving an amazing performance with sharp and energetic moves.
Photo A.Rosales/Gigantea
Michelle Lapp, Redwood’s Dance Teacher, says, “We were hoping to place higher than that, but since we did compete with D1, we feel happy with our performance. Not as happy with our scores, but it’s all a part of our journey. We’re looking forward to the 3 upcoming chances we have.”
Dance Force did very well with their competition, but improvements are never hurt to be improved.
Sara Sozinho, ’26, says “we could definitely improve by hyping each other up more and building our energy up to the highest.”
The support the Dance Force team gets is incredible. So much attention and encouragement are given to make them feel successful while hitting the stage.
Sozinho says, “Our confidence was super high because of the loud audience we had since all our family was there, so the energy was received very well.”
annual showdown at Taylor’s Hot Dogs
Photo T.Tinker/Gigantea
The team has different ways of being rewarded after a competition, but Lapp is rewarded for what her team has improved on throughout lots of practices, time, and effort.
Lapp says, “The most rewarding part of the competition was getting to see the progress the team has made, which was amazing because our routines come with many different layers.”
“You’re not necessarily gonna get rewarded how you want, and at a certain time, you have to put in the reps and the hard work so you build up to those high rewards. All the hard work pays off in future competitions,” Lapp says.
“My Dance team’s motivational mindset is always perseverant, never giving up, working hard, dedicated, and confident, bringing the confidence and passion while performing.”
Michelle Lapp, Redwood’s Dance Teacher
Dance Force has many more opportunities in the upcoming season. Competitions such as West Coast Elite (WCE), USA Regional in February in San Jose, and USA Dance Nationals in March.
They have been working really hard on their competition routines and dances. They look forward to their next competition for WCE on January 31st.
Brisa Magana
Brisa Magana, '28 has been in Journalism for 2 years now and loves to work in the Arts & Entertainment Section, loves to write about dance and is really dedicated to creating stories. The point is to let others voices be heard while having the most fun.
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