Dancing with X is an annual fundraising show that the Carlsbad Xcalibur Dance Team puts on to raise money for their national competition. Girls on the team choose a male partner to choreograph a dance with and compete against the other pairs. After the first round, the dance coaches choose the three best teams to compete in the final round, of which the crowd will vote for the winning pair. There are 5 freshman boys are participating for the first time.

Lancer Link: What was the hardest part of competing in the show?

Freshman Zak Stohlmann: The very intense training put thoughts of quitting in my mind. The hardest part was memorizing the steps and being able to perform in front of so many people. Unfortunately, we didn’t do as well as we thought we would. I still think being able to memorize was the hardest part.

Freshman Slater Todd: Remembering the dance because we only practiced for four days and focusing during our practices was also hard because we like to mess around a lot.

LL: What have you been doing to prepare for the show?

ZS: The week before the show we had practice three days in a row and our partners helped us work on our technique a lot. I’ve also been hitting abs every night before bed to stay extra strong. We practiced for an hour and 30 minutes but didn’t get much done, so we needed more practice time. They took videos of our practices and made us watch them and they also brought food to every practice, which inspired me to work to my fullest potential.

ST: We were just locked in, and we took advantage of the small amount of time we had. We practiced hard the week before and I stocked up on pizza to help me get through performing in front of the petrifying crowd.

Freshman Rocco Devlin: I have been training hard every day, ensuring that I am in perfect shape to go all out on performance day. We’ve been training every day at lunch and I’ve been working my hardest.

Freshman Trent Kellas: We did a lot of practicing, put in a lot of hard work, and made sure we stayed focused to get through it.

Freshman Colt Joseph: We just practiced our routine every week until we got it down, our partners were really on top of us making sure we were the best we could be.

LL: What was your favorite part of your dance?

ZS: My favorite part of the dance was the pizza we got before performing because I’m bulking and I need to eat as much food as I can.

ST: My favorite part was the entrance in front of so many people. And the ending because from the stage we could hear the cheer of our fans.

RD: My favorite part of the dance was being thrown in the air.

TK: My favorite part was when I got to do the jump and the finishing pose.

CJ: My favorite part was the forward roll.

LL: Will you be returning next year?

ZS: We will be back next year.

ST: Yeah, second is never good enough. We are going for the win next year.

RD: Absolutely! It was so much fun and I’m coming for first place next year.

CJ: We will be returning for the 2025 Dancing with X.