AHS Dance Teams Place at Miss Dance Drill Team U.S.A

PAULA KIRYA
Staff Writer

On Feb. 14, AHS Drill, Orchesis and All Male dance teams competed in Miss Dance Drill USA’s Streetdance competition at Mark Keppel High School. The competition also featured 23 other schools competing in varying categories.

Drill earned second place in two divisions, facing San Marcos High School in Large Jazz and San Marcos High School as well as West High School Junior Varsity in Pom. Many members conveyed their excitement as Streetdance was their first competition of the season.

“Being able to see my team scream for joy when we [placed] was just amazing,” Drill leader Maggie Liang said.

Orchesis placed third in character amongst San Marcos, Palos Verdes Peninsula and Tustin High School.

“I feel that as dancers we could have done better. We should take into consideration how much time we have, manage [better] and practice a little more,” Orchesis member Lali Flores said.

All Male repeated history by once again earning first place in Large Male Street Dance, beating San Marcos High School.

All Female, consisting of members in both Orchesis and Drill, obtained third place in Large Female Streetdance against Fountain Valley High School and San Marcos High School.

Co-Ed Dance, consisting of dancers from all the dance teams placed first in Large Co-Ed Street Dance, beating Mira Mesa High School, Rhythm Impact, Fountain Valley High School, West High School Junior Varsity, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School San Marcos High School and Cerritos High School.

“I never thought that we’d get first place for two categories,” All Male leader Dimitri Madyomo said.

The dance leaders still see room for improvement in several aspects of their routines, varying from cleanliness, formations, energy, facial expressions and uniformity.

“I expect [our teams] to work harder than they [have] before and to stay humble,” Liang said.

However, all of the leaders expressed their joy for having a successful competition.

“It’s a great feeling [to know] we did better than we anticipated,” Orchesis leader Sophia Lu said.

The teams’ practices are fixated on improvement, so that they may do better as the competition season progresses and many are hoping to place first in future competitions.

“Each year, the dance teams are challenged to uphold the long standing tradition of Alhambra’s award-winning reputation. Thankfully, we have been able to increase the number of competitions that the teams attend in order to give the members as much experience as possible. Each time any of the teams participates and wins, it is a win for the entire high school,” All Male adviser Kevin Tong said.