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COURIER photo/Gabriel Fenoy
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| The El Roble Intermediate School Dance Team competes inside the CHS gym during the 27th Annual Claremont High School Festival of Champions dance competition. El Roble went on to win two first place trophies during the event. |
A whole lot of energy!
CHS Dance Festival rocks the gym
So many teams. So many moves. So many cheers.
From start to finish, the 27th Annual Claremont High School Festival of Champions entertained an excitable audience as high school, junior high and middle school teams showcased their skills and talents all day in an event that featured more than 30 participating schools.
“I love the atmosphere with all the schools coming together,” said Delaney Black, a CHS senior and captain of the CHS Dance Team. “This event means so much—seeing all the other teams and getting to know everybody.”
The festival is a CHS tradition, where the school’s dance team plays host to the multiple high school, junior high and middle schools that compete in the east and west gyms each year. This year’s event contained 25 high schools as well as 3 junior high and 4 middle schools.
It is the efforts of CHS Dance Team advisor Lisa Germano, along with members of the CHS dance squad, booster club members and a host of other volunteers that made this year’s occasion a reality. The hosts were at work as early as 5 a.m. on Saturday and did not leave until well over 15 hours later.
According to Ms. Germano, the combined efforts of the hosts, volunteers, judges and teams made for a well-operated festival that also ended ahead of schedule.
“I thought it was a perfect day,” the CHS Dance Team advisor said. “Everything started on time and the awards were handed out on time. This event is special because we have so much parental and community support. The kids are involved and we also receive help from siblings, friends and past members.”
Sue Gehringer, one of the judges for the event as well as a choreographer and dance educator for more than 30 years, pointed out multiple reasons why she continues to be a part of the annual CHS event. One of the main reasons is because of how the CHS festival is run.
“It went very smooth,” Ms. Gehringer said. “Also, you have to love it. There’s a nice range of talent featured and it is also a nice opportunity for younger ones to show their skills. The parents get to see what’s ahead for these dancers. This is a wonderful tradition.”
Whether it was the hip-hop showdowns between West Covina High School and Valenica High School (Placentia), the novelty competition between Palm Desert High School and Cerritos High School or the pom dance battle between Pioneer, Garfield, South and Sonora High Schools, there was something for everyone at the festival throughout the day. The Festival of Champions had both individual and team competitions that spanned multiple genres of dance. (story continues below)
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COURIER photo/Gabriel Fenoy
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| The Rowland High School dance team warms up outside the Claremont High School gym before competing in Saturday’s Festival of Champions. |
Saturday was a significant day for El Roble Intermediate School as the junior high dance squad took home two first place trophies under first year advisor Jennifer Jouglard. The Panthers scored 83 points to win the Junior High/Middle School Large Dance category, tallied 78.33 points to win the Junior High/Middle School Medium Dance event and totaled 73.5 points to finish second in the Junior High/Middle School Small Lyrical competition.
“It was so fun—I’ve never done this before with a team as an advisor,” Ms. Jouglard said. “I was nervous when they went up but they did very good.”
While the competition in itself has the potential to create an intense environment and a significant amount of pressure for dancers wanting to show their superiority against their opposition, El Roble dancer Jane Goodfellow decided from the beginning that her first experience at the CHS Festival of Champions was going to be an enjoyable one.
“There was a lot of energy,” the El Roble 8th grader said. “It was a lot of fun and we got to hang out and bond as a team. Even if we weren’t in particular events, we still supported out teammates. I had a blast.”
What used to be at one time the kickoff to the CHS Dance Team season, this year’s event came one week after the Wolfpack’s first competition in West Covina on January 26. At West Covina, the 18-member team took home first place trophies in every division.
This Saturday, the CHS Dance Team will travel to Riverside to compete in an event held at Arlington High School. After hosting last Saturday’s event, senior co-captain Chelsea Cobos is ready to return to competition.
“The festival gives you a chance to see what other teams are bringing and makes you step your game up,” Chelsea said. “Sometimes, seeing what they do makes you want to do better.”
—Landus Rigsby
