Redwood on the Beat: First Hip-Hop Comp Team Since COVID-19

Redwood’s first Hip-Hop competition team since COVID-19, is performing their dance on January 31st, 2026, at Castaic high school in Santa Clarita.

By: Beth Musto

Saturday, January 31st, Redwood’s Hip-Hop competition team is competing at Castaic high school in Santa Clarita.

The team has been preparing for this since the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, starting the audition process in the summer and picking the team in August.

Michelle Palma, ’27, says, “So we just found out [about] the team this year in August, but we’ve been auditioning all during summer and since last year.
And when we found out [about the competition], we saw this opportunity to compete at a conference, so we’ve been practicing for maybe two months,”

Just recently, on Tuesday, January 27th, the team performed during half-time at a varsity boys basketball game.

This was their first time performing in front of people. Dancers on the team can be feeling nervous when they have people watching them.

Vanessa Robles, ’26, says, “We were all a little nervous at first, but I feel like it was just a good practice to get used to what it would feel like to perform in front of a bunch of people. I feel really proud of us, because out of the short amount of time that we had, we were able to, like, get stuff done, and work hard, and I just feel like we accomplished a lot, and I’m really happy.”

“It was nerve wracking, but I was excited, and I had a lot of fun,” Joseph Landin, ’27, says.

Sophie Caballes, ’26, says, “I’ve competed once, and honestly, I didn’t feel too bad, but I felt really nervous for this one because the audience was full of people that we knew.
So I was very scared, but I didn’t really want to tell anybody, because if one person’s scared, then everybody else is going to be scared. So I tried not to be that. And I tried to just help everybody else with their nerves even though I was nervous myself.”

The team has been working hard, with finishing the dance about a month ago, cleaning it up, picking out costumes, and now competing this weekend.

“We started close to the beginning of the year, about a month in, and we finished about a month ago, and I think that we’ve been cleaning pretty well,” Dominic Pasquini, ’29, says.

Pasquini is a freshman on the team, he says, “I think that it’s really cool, what Mrs. Lapp is letting us do. I think it’s a way to, like, show off different [dance] classes rather than just beginner to dance force. And I think it’s really cool what we’ve been doing.”

The team is filled with students who are in the Hip-Hop class here at Redwood. They had to go through an audition process throughout the summer.

Having this team be the first since COVID-19, some dancers are feeling honored and proud that they are a part of this team.

“I feel very honored to, like, be one of the first groups to restart this opportunity, and I can’t wait to see future groups that come in, and I just hope that it’s a really good experience, and that we do good, and that we can continue on with this program,” Palma says.

Landin says, “I was really happy to make it on the team, and, yeah, I’m just excited [to be] with all the people that are in it, too.”

Caballes’ older brother, Jared Caballes, is the one who choreographed the dance. She says that her favorite part about her brother choreographing is that he is the one that taught her the dance.

Caballes says, “My favorite part of my brother choreographing is that he’s the one who taught me to dance. So it’s choreo that I’m really used to. Then because it’s my brother, I’m close enough with him to feel comfortable to tell him, like if other people don’t like the choreo, if I don’t like it, and I can share with him my honest opinions about the set.”

As the team gets ready to compete, Robles says not to miss the Redwood Dance Show, which is April 30th, May 1st and 2nd.

Tags: clubs & lifestyles, dance, hip hop, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, visalia ca