Officer Sophia Sands (11) begins with her hands pointed downwards, Jan. 19. Her limbs hang loose alongside eight other dancers, all in beautiful alignment with one another. From the depth at which their arms stretch down to the line they arrange themselves in, they are perfectly still. It’s only when the erratic rhythm of “Somebody I Used to Know” consumes Torrey Pines’ gym that they are spurred into movement: the individuals standing up abruptly, before separating from one another and each matching a different beat of the song. Underlying the chaos, there’s a sense of harmonious, practiced cohesion, which carries itself throughout the rest of the performance at Dance Troupe’s first competition of the year, West Coast Elite.  

Dance Troupe won first place in the Small Contemporary category for this routine and was also awarded Best Technique overall. They further placed fourth with another Small Contemporary dance, third in Medium Contemporary, second in Extra Small Dance, and fifth in Medium Lyrical amongst 13 other schools.

Sands, who choreographed the winning dance last spring, said it was extremely rewarding to see her creation come this far. 

“It’s rare to have a student-choreographed dance in competition,” Sands said. “At first, my dance was just another one of the pieces [for our Spring show]. But then, the coaches pulled me aside and told me that they wanted to continue using our piece since they believed, given more time, it could turn into something great. So, I was really excited to continue improving the dance and we’ve worked on it since then.”

According to Sands, the choreography came naturally to her. However, throughout the last few months it underwent a lot of development to prepare it for competition. 

“I drew a lot of inspiration from other contemporary or jazz choreography,” Sands said. “During the season, I pulled different moves from the other dances and incorporated whatever flowed with the song. This dance [was]really easy to produce because I felt I connected to the music.”

Sands said that seeing it come together was exciting, but it will be subject to change in the future. 

“It was a proud moment,” she said. “I was very proud of the girls in my dance because from the beginning, they had worked continuously super hard to make it their best. To see the development of the dance and its finished product  was really cool, but it will only continue to grow this season.” 

All in all, Sands said the competition was very successful. Uniquely at this tournament, each member was able to perform their solo. Officer Anika Siddiqui (12) worked with outside choreographer Nicole Perez, who has been creating dances for Dance Troupe for the past couple of years. Siddiqui said that this process was extremely collaborative. 

“Working with my outside choreographer is always a back-and-forth process,” Siddiqui said. “She picked the song for me, but I got to approve it. Then, she walked me through [making the choreography] by asking me about my strengths and what I’m looking to do with my solo. It’s really catered to what I want; I told her my style and special tricks I’m good at, and she incorporated them. I really love how it turned out.”  

Siddiqui performed “Falling,” by Florence and the Machine. Though she has been on Dance Troupe for the past four years, Siddiqui said competing is always nerve-wrecking. 

“The feeling of the first competition [of the season] stays the same,” she said. “I still get anxious about my performance, especially when I’m dancing. Before going into it, I felt really confident in what I had practiced, but afterwards, I was overthinking everything and [believed] I could have done so much better. In the end, I realized that was all in my head and after watching the video [of my dance], I felt proud of myself and what I put out there.” 

For Brooke Salazar (9), this was her first ever competition and solo with the Dance Troupe. Though she has been dancing for 12 years in an independent studio , she said the experience with the team was completely different. 

“My studio was really competitive and I felt like since it was so big, we were all pretty divided,” Salazar said. “But, on Dance Troupe, we’re all one unit and we all support each other. I’ve never been on a team like that before. So, it was so memorable when everyone was watching my solo. My teammates, my friends, and my family were all there and I’ve just never had so many people watch me dance before. I felt so appreciated and welcomed.” 

Siddiqui said the community on the team is a big reason why she’s stayed all four years. 

“The relationships we have within our team are a big part of why a lot of us stay,” Siddiqui said. “There’s just so many little moments in dance where you make special connections with your teammates. Before we go on for each dance, for example, are some of my favorite memories; we all circle up and the officers will say a little speech about how proud we are. I’m just so close to them all the time, and I know when the season is over, that’s what I’ll miss most.” 

Sands agreed and said that these all-day competitions are an avenue for team bonding. 

“It can get really exhausting and there are just moments during the competition when it gets really hard to keep going,” Sands said. “It’s important to push through and I think these are the moments where I’m just so grateful to have my team to motivate me to keep going. We get through it together and it makes us all closer as a group.”  

Though they’ve completed their first competition, Salazar said that she knows it’s only uphill from here. 

“I just really want to improve my technique,” Salazar said. “Just watching my other teammates inspires me to keep going and practicing. I know it’ll only get better from here.” 

Siddiqui shares this sentiment, but overall, she said she just wants to make sure this season is enjoyable for Dance Troupe. 

“My goal for the team is just to be proud of ourselves when we get home,” she said. “I think that’s all I can ever ask for, just giving 100% of our best, no matter what we end up placing. It’s my last year and I just want to treasure these final moments with my team.”