All those interested in joining Carlsbad’s junior varsity or varsity dance teams, the Lancer Dancers or Xcalibur, must first engage in a week long audition. The upcoming 2015-16 school year will be full of changes in many aspects, starting with auditions.

Graduating seniors of both teams share a large role in auditioning the incoming dancers.

“For one, we choreographed across the floor combinations and taught them to the dancers,” senior and Xcalibur dancer Maddie Sanchez said. “We also demonstrated during the skills tests. Then, we learned the routines with the dancers in order to demonstrate them and answered any questions they had after the choreographers had left. Finally we called dancers in and out of their final audition process as well as answering any last minute questions the dancers had.”

Various differences can be seen between previous auditions and this year.

“There are a few things that changed in auditions for this year,” junior and Lancer Dancer Ellie Meck said. “First, the people trying out for Lancer Dancers are learning a dance together with Xcalibur as well as separate dances instead of only learning different routines. Also, people have to come up with four eight counts of choreography on their own to add to the dances learned. Lastly, in the Lancer Dancer audition we have to come up with and show three different tricks versus just a head spring and kip.”

Xcalibur team members will experience a shift in leadership with a new coach for the first time in 10 years.

“The new coach is Kaitlin Mazzocco,” Sanchez said. “She was on the team when she went to Carlsbad a few years back and she has been the assistant coach the past two years. I think she is going to be a good coach because she knows what’s going on already since she was on the team and I think it will be a good year.”

The structure of the dance teams’ national competition through the Universal Dance Association (UDA) is being revised as well.

“The divisions changed for next year so now there are small, medium and large group divisions versus just small and large,” Meck said. “That might change things because now we can have more people without having to compete against teams with like 25 dancers.”

One thing that stays constant between all auditions alike is the unpredictability of the outcome.

“It’s never definite, even if you have been on the team before no one has a definite spot,” Meck said. “I still have to work as hard as everybody else does. I still have to earn my spot.”