The Xcalibur Dance Team is comprised of 16 dedicated and talented dancers. They perform at football and basketball games, as well as at many community events throughout the school year. For one determined individual, junior Payton Hecht is on her road to success.

“I’ve been dancing since I was three years old,” Hecht said. “From that moment, I knew I loved dancing.”

Because Hecht has been dancing for this long, has caused her to think about what she wants to do with her future in dance. Dancing at Carlsbad for the past two years has helped her by opening up doors for her future.

“Our nationals were in Long Beach last year,” Hecht said. “We placed first in jazz.”

These dancers have practiced for countless hours and have seen all of their hard work pay off. This win was a big achievement for this dance team Part of the success of the team is due to the community around them because of how  helpful and supportive they have been.

“The crowd is hype and the environment is surreal when performing,” Hecht said. “This is one of my favorite high school memories.”

After her experience on the Carlsbad dance team, Hecht has decided that she wants to continue the sport throughout college.

“My dream college to dance at right now is SDSU,” Hecht said. “This would be an amazing accomplishment to be on a college dance team.”

College would be a great way for Hecht to set herself on a mainstream level. This would be a great opportunity to launch Hecht into a career and future involving dance.

“Teaching people to dance is a great opportunity in the dance community,” Hecht said. “This is a very real option with dance. In my future, I would hope to teach people.”

By teaching people to dance, Hecht can get more involved in this community and help people reach their dreams. Dance in general is a very good way to stay active and busy, but student dancers sometimes struggle balancing school work and dance.

“It’s hard in the beginning but when you set a schedule you have a good way to balance everything,” Hecht said. “You also have 16 friends to help you with whatever you need.”

Hecht’s experience in Xcalibur has helped involve her in the school and community. Overall being on the team has helped shape its dancers as students and artists, influencing the dancers to carry the sport with them in the future. These talented dancers have devoted countless hours, days and weeks to this sport.

“This journey is far from over,” Hecht said.