Carlsbad’s nationally ranked Lancer Dancers met with over 300 other schools to compete for the annual USA title in Anaheim. Lancer Dancers ended up receiving 4th place in Jazz and 1st place in Hip-Hop, preparing for this moment since last year.

“We stared practicing in August and before we performed in Anaheim we had done so in Orlando,” senior Piper Cervantes said. “That was our first big nationals, so we’ve been preparing since then in January two or three times a week for at least three hours if not more, especially on the weekends.”

The Lancer Dancers’ first nationals helped progress the team forward, making it a learning experience for them to be perfect at Anaheim this year and show the competition how serious Carlsbad takes their dancing regimen.

“Once we came back from our first nationals we worked on things that we could have improved on the first time around and tried to better our performances so that we could really improve and feel like we did the best we could,” Cervantes said.

Placing first in Hip-Hop for USA is a feat worth noting for the Lancer Dancers. For the first time do they achieve such a tremendous goal, fully appreciating the gravity of the situation taking nothing for granted.

“I feel beyond honored to place first at USA because every team at the competition was extremely talented and winning proved our hard work and dedication,” sophomore Lindsay Foster said.

What really defined the Lancer Dancers their first place position in Hip-Hop was the sense of unity they felt with each other and the amount of time and effort they put into their passion every week. Cooperation and talent were essential to the triumphs the dancers experienced in Anaheim.

“I think a combination of teamwork and practice, we have so many talented girls on our team and we are all very close, very bonded,” Cervantes said. “We’ve known each other pretty much our whole lives so it really helps when we get together and perform.”

Even after having to change their routine when a fellow dancer was injured, the team pulled through by remembering their training up to this moment and learning from what they had accomplished a few month prior in Orlando.

“A couple days before we left for Anaheim, a freshmen on our team who is a very strong hip-hopper had a little scare with her knee,” Cervantes said. “We had to re-block the dances completely, which are the dances we’ve been perfecting since August so it was a kind of scary moment in practice.”

This year’s Lancer Dancers already see a promising and impressive future for the next years. Hopeful to beat their predecessors, they strive to create a whole new standard for Carlsbad High Dchool dancing at Nationals and any other events.

“There will be a lot of returners on the team and I believe in their experience and leadership skills,” Cervantes said. “I think the team will be very prepared, a lot of incoming people I know will also bring the same amount of motivation and talent, so I think next year they will be in a very good position.”