Whether performing a rigorously rehearsed routine on the national stage or a swiftly assembled piece of choreography in front of peers at school, the art of dance demands a keen sense of rhythm and unshakable composure. When it comes to the annual lip sync competition at Pinewood, the school’s competitive dancers call on their outside experience to showcase their outstanding talents on the gym floor and also take the lead for their grades behind the scenes.
Junior Sophia Lee has been dancing since she was three years old and has been doing it competitively since she was eight. Aside from her numerous top-placing performances on the national level, Lee explains what aspects of dance she finds the most rewarding.
“It’s a really good mix of doing a sport and also doing something artistic,” Lee said. “It’s also really great having a really good support system with my team.”
As the lead choreographer for the juniors, Lee is confident that her dance experience will not only help her teach her grade more effectively, but also make performing feel more natural.
“Having competed for much higher stakes on stage hundreds of times makes it a lot less stressful,” Lee said. “It’s honestly just like a performance for fun, so I think it really takes all the nerves out of it.”
Similarly, sophomore Alisha Ramani, a member of Panther Dancers, Pinewood’s very own dance team, has also been an avid dancer since she was five years old. Ramani started taking dancing more seriously when she was about nine, starting out with hip-hop and experimenting with more styles of dance as she matured.
As one of the lead choreographers for the sophomores, Ramani highlights her approach to introducing potentially challenging choreography to her grade.
“When we choreograph, we just try to make moves simple enough so everyone can get it in a short period of time,” Ramani said. “We try to do things that impress the audience and are easy to do at the same time.”
Additionally, freshman Nerea Amezcua has been a dancer for about 10 years and has showcased her talents in various public locations, including some big shopping malls. Currently, she performs at different locations on top of helping out with dance classes at her dance studio as a teacher. When it comes to teaching her grade choreography, however, Amezcua encounters similar challenges as Ramani.
“I try to test the waters, so I’ll give them something I think they are capable of getting, but is a little bit more on the challenging side,” Amezcua said. “If they start to tell me they don’t really get it, I’ll make it easier.”
As the long awaited lip sync assembly nears, all grades are hastily reviewing their choreography in hopes of putting together a clean performance in front of the school. Ramani trusts that her prior experience will help her shine bright in the lip sync.
“I’m going to put 110% of my energy into lip sync and use the skills that I’ve learned from dancing since childhood,” Ramani said.
