During the summer, while most Redwood Rangers are lying back at home or on exciting vacations around the world, Dance Force took a trip. They competed in a dance camp amongst hundreds of other dancers just like them. Let’s hear a Redwood dance student’s perspective.
By Melanya Solorio
This year, the dance team coached by Mrs. Lapp attended the USA dance camp during the summer, from July 24 to 27, 2023. This event was held in Buena Park, CA, at the Knotts Berry Farm Resort. Dancers around the state attended this camp, presenting the Redwood students with a lot of fierce competition and motivation to win awards while also being a good sport.
Makayla Bullock, ’24, the winner of the Super Sensational award and now a USA dance recruit, was asked about the super sensational award she was given, she says, “It felt really good, throughout the whole camp I’ve been wanting that award and I feel like I worked hard for it, so it felt great”, in addition, it is stated that only one of those awards is given to an attendee for the whole camp out of over 200 dancers.
During camp, she says that getting to spend time with her team during dinner and breakfast was the opportunity to “getting to bond” with her team.
The highlights of her camp experience were “getting my super sensational award and getting to build trust and more relationships with my team that will carry throughout the year.” she says.
Bullock did face a roadblock but she triumphed through it in the end and shared her words of wisdom, “My shoulder popped out at camp so I learned that you could even push through battles and just work hard and you can achieve anything.”
Makayla and 2 other students are planning on joining the USA Dance Staff in the summer of 2024 and they are hoping to be teaching at numerous camps across California and possibly even across the country.
Melanya Solorio
Her name is Melanya Solorio, she is a freshman reporter for the redwood gigantea and they like to draw and write.
She likes taylor swift and gwen stefani.
Tags: dance, danceteam, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, redwoodae, rhs, summer, visalia ca