Last Thursday night was the opening performance of the Lancer Dancers three day fundraising showcase. As I walked in, I was dreading going on a week night and thought it was ‘just a dance thing,’ but as I left the theater I started to question why I hadn’t gone before!

The dance department put on a spectacular show, highlighting the Lancer Dancers, Xcailibur, Dance 3, Dance 2A and B and Dance 1 with special appearances from the “mancer dancers” as well as a kids dance class. With an assortment of music styles and tribute videos, no dance was the same.

Performing 30 dances during its two hour duration, each performance left the crowd wanting more. With songs like “Blurred Lines”, “On Top of the World” and “I love Rock ‘n Roll,” the entire show was diversified with many genres of music and dancing styles.

Lancers Dancers performed “Tennis Court” with tight and elegant choreography and “Versace” was easily one of the most entertaining to watch. The ladies showed their “gangsta” dance moves while pumping up the crowd. Sophomore Nicole Mendrala expresses how much she, and the rest of the dancers, love performing for Carlsbad’s own.

“Performing for the school is our favorite thing to do,” Mendrala said. “Everyone is so supportive, its the best thing having people cheer for us.”

Each and every dance had the crowd having such a good time. During the performances the crowd and the dancers fed off each other’s energy, making the experience even more enjoyable.

Midway through the 1st half, Lancer Dancers brought out there Wednesday dance class of younger children. Piper Cervantes, Sophie DiPietro and Tiffany Smith were leading young-ins in an impressive dance to “You Make Me Feel,” pulling off a heart-felt moment.

There were many heart felt moments during the course of the showcase, as videos giving personal insights to each dancer. Along with hilarious baby pictures and videos, these moments also led into the “How Far We’ve Come” dance, performed by the Lancer Dancer seniors, was quite emotional. Everyone saw the compassion on each dancers face. Senior Ashley Welzel expresses her gratitude to her teammates and talks about her final showcase.

“I can’t thank everyone enough on the team for everything they’ve done and the hard work they have put into it, knowing that its some of our last years here,” Welzel said. “You never really understand how it feels until you are in this position of it being your final showcase.”

As the first half of the showcase wrapped up, Lancer Dancers showed their Christmas spirit. While wearing wonderfully made “santa” dresses, they preformed “Santa Clause Lane” as “snow” fell down, adding to the holiday enthusiasm.

During the second half of the show Lancer Dancers and Xcailibur jammed out to Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie.” choreographed by the Captains Leah Johnson, Taylor Kullman and Tiffany Smith, the dance was extremely energetic. The outfits worn by the dancers were somewhat of a “cheetah” theme which went along great with the lightshow, background and song making it a jack-of-all trades type of dance.

The night ended with an unforgettable appearance by the Mancer Dancers. With a Video Music Awards theme, each group of guys and gals acted as a special Hollywood couple. As the power couples of Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Selena Gomez and JBiebs, and Britney Spears with none other than Justin Timberlake, the Mancer and Lancer Dancers put on a great finale which had the crowd having a jubilant time.

During each dance that went by, you could tell that the chemistry was really there. With that much great charisma and intimacy, audiences could clearly see how much fun they were having.